


Konoha no Niidaime Kiiroi Senkou

by GlidingOne



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-10 09:38:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 136,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13499342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlidingOne/pseuds/GlidingOne
Summary: Konoha's Second Yellow Flash. It all started the day of the Kumo incident at the Hyuuga compound - one action altered the course of history and the ninja world. Rating may change. Will be epic in length. AU. Pairings are not the focus of the story, though they exist.It's been six years since this was first published on ff dot net. I'm finally crossposting.





	1. Chapter 1

Summary: It all started the day of the Kumo incident at the Hyuuga compound. One action sped up the course of history. NaruHina, SasuSaku, NejiTen, and others, but not until later. These are mostly non-negotiable.

Chapter One

The night was cold, at least to the people of the village. It was a typical night in December in Konohagakure. Most of the villagers were asleep in their beds after having spent the day celebrating Konoha's alliance with Kumo. But, those that weren't were keeping to themselves.

A little three-year-old blond child wandered around the village with his head down and contemplating his purpose in life. He'd sneaked out of the orphanage - but it wasn't like they'd have noticed. they never looked at him. They never talked to him. How was he going to become Hokage if no one told him how to get there in the first place? He was lost in his loneliness. The only person to have acknowledged him was Hokage-jiijii and after seeing how everyone loved the old man, the blond had decided that he would be just like him. Moreover he would be better than him and his deceased successor, and predecessor, Yondaime. The Yondaime, the man who saved the village, was his hero. And since everyone loved him so completely, Naruto wanted the people of the village to love him too.

After all if he was their protector, as the Sandaime had said was the job of the Hokage, then the village would have to acknowledge that he was as much a person as they were. Even if they left him alone in the orphanage for being a 'demon,' though they never explained what they meant by that.

A muffled cry interrupted his depressing thoughts and he quickly hurried in that direction, curious.

In front of him stood a tall man with a bundle under his arm. What was strange was that this bundle looked like a person and the blond was pretty sure that was not supposed to be normal. So, he looked up at the man who had frozen in front of him and said, "What do you think you're doing -ttebayo? I'm going to be Hokage, so you better leave!"

The man stared at him for a moment and then shifted the bundle in his arms, "Like you could do anything." His sneer served to make the boy angry and he tackled the man's legs, which coupled with the unbalance caused by the sack in his arms, forced him to drop the bundle that now appeared to be a little girl about his own age that promptly sat up and stared with terrified, pale lavender eyes. The man hadn't been expecting the child to actually attack, but the next assault was more expected and he quickly twisted the boy's arm behind his back; the blond cried out and the man sneered.

"You can't become Hokage, you don't have the guts or the strength. Besides, I'm going to kill you now, there's no need for any witnesses. And, from the way everyone treated the Blond pariah, I'm sure no one will miss you."

The boy froze, the villagers had all told him he'd never make it to Hokage, but when the man said how no one would miss him, he believed. No one missed him while he was alive . . . But . . . he still wanted to be Hokage, to make them miss him like they missed Yondaime.

"N-No! He's wrong! D-Don't give up . . . please!" The little girl cried.

The blond turned to her shocked; she had begun to cry. But before he could do anything, the man had hit her.

"Just be quiet and stay down. We'll get you to Kumo soon enough and then you can make all the noise you want."

The blond froze. This girl had been the first to acknowledge him, besides the old man who was far too busy to do more than spend a meal with him, and now this man was saying he was going to take her away?

He saw red.

ooOoo

His head was throbbing, and his limbs felt like they may have burned and then plunged into ice-cold water. Everything was hazy and the little blond looked around him to see the man dead and in front of him completely mutilated. He could feel a kind of horror growing up in himself.

Had he done that? Had he killed the man? The blond's breathing was speeding up and he seemed to have a hard time getting back to normal. He looked at the girl, but she still hadn't woken up. That was good. She didn't need to see this.

Before long, a patrol of ANBU had come across the sight and gaped at the destruction wreaked upon the man before they crouched in front of the blond, picked up the unconscious little girl and told him that they had to take him to the Hokage's office.

The blond nodded numbly before allowing the ANBU to pick him up and carry him away.

At the Hokage Tower they found a few white-eyed men arguing with the Hokage about how someone had taken the heir and had gotten away before they could do anything.

However, at seeing the Hokage, the blond surged forward, "Hokage-jiijii!" before leaping into the older man's lap.

"Naruto? Now's not exactly the right time to-"

"Daddy?" the little girl had awoken and struggled to get out of the ANBU's arms. Her father, too shocked at her appearance, simply wrapped his arm around her, taking her from the ANBU and allowing her to hide her face in his robes and looking confusedly at the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama," the ANBU stepped forward, "We found them by the mutilated body of one of the Kumo ninja."

The Hokage's shocked face spoke volumes. But, he shook the blond, Naruto, and the child lifted his head.

"Could you tell me what happened?"

"I . . . I was walking in the village and . . . I heard her . . . and I followed him dattebayo and I told him to put her down and I tackled him . . . and . . . and I don't remember anything after that . . . I woke up and . . . and he was . . . was . . . dead."

The old man stared at the little boy in his lap before he turned to the Hyuuga council before him and sighed. "Hyuuga-sama, I think it would be best if you went home and secured the compound."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" The clan head responded, picking up his daughter and exiting the tower.

"Now, Naruto . . . what really happened?" the old man asked softly as the child looked up, wiping tears from his eyes..

"She . . . she acknowledged me. And that man was going to take her away . . ."

Lifting his head, the Hokage called the ANBU forward. "Find Inu, bring him here," he ordered before turning back to the child, "Naruto, you need to train, we can't let this happen again."

The child nodded and held on to the Hokage tighter.

"I'm a monster, right . . . I don't even have real parents, right, that's why you don't tell me about them, only that they died in the Kyuubi attack." The blond was crying at this point.

"No, Naruto, your parents loved you very much!" but the boy wouldn't listen, a large part of him didn't believe the old man's words. After all, he'd never seen them - maybe the old man was lying, maybe his parents didn't exist at all.

"You're just saying that."

The aging Hokage grimaced, the child needed a name, a picture at least. But, to tell the child any names would risk him finding out about who his parents were and make conclusions as to why he was left alone and why no one knew or liked him.

No, in this case, with the kid having killed someone, there was only one conclusion.

"Naruto, do you know what it means to be Hokage?"

The child sniffed before responding, "It means you protect the village with everything that you have, because you love them."

"Yes, Naruto. Sacrifice, like the Yondaime. Look at that picture over there, that is the Yondaime." The blond turned to look at the wall of pictures and his eyes immediately fixated on the blond. The Hokage pulled a picture from one of his many drawers. "And this is him with his wife. His name was Namikaze Minato, and hers . . . was Uzumaki Kushina." The blonde's eyes widened. "He had many enemies, particularly in Iwagakure because of the Third Shinobi War. You are your parents son, but no one can know, otherwise you will be in danger, do you understand me?"

The boy stared at the redhead and the Yondaime, his role model. The one he had sworn to surpass. His father. The phrase was foreign to him, but brought a warm feeling to his gut.

"How did okaa-san die, I know how otou-san did, but . . ."

The old man looked away from the child in his lap. His eyes held a far away quality to them and for a moment, Naruto saw why this seemingly frail old man was called the Professor and the God of Shinobi.

"Your mother . . . her clan . . . Uzushiogakure was really good at fuuinjutsu. They were destroyed in the Third Shinobi War, and any survivors were scattered to the wind. She was the only Uzumaki left in Konoha. She taught your father half of what he knew in sealing and had a special chakra that could manifest itself into chains. She was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi before your birth, which is why you have those whiskers on your cheeks, but it got out. The night of your birth, and the Kyuubi attack, she held the Kyuubi down with those chains and your father . . . defeated the beast. They both died that night."

Tears had leaked out of his face at the beginning of the explanation, but now he was bawling. "Jiijii! I'll make them proud! I'll be just like dad! I'll be Hokage dattebayo!"

The old man smiled before looking up at Inu's entrance.

"Inu, tonight there was attempt by Kumo to kidnap the Hyuuga heiress. Naruto stopped them, however, I'm afraid Naruto won't be the same. I'm placing him under ANBU's care."

Inu paused, as if unsure how to take care of the kid, but nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama!" He took the child's hand and tilting his head as he went back toward ANBU headquarters. They passed at least ten ANBU before stopping at a door.

"This will be your room. I'll come by tomorrow and we'll begin learning how to be a ninja."

Inu seemed distant, but at least he looked at Naruto when he talked to him, unlike the ladies at the orphanage. That, Naruto decided was what made this guy worthwhile.

ooOoo

Kakashi stared at the boy. He had inhuman stamina. There were moments when he thought the child had had enough but each time he suggested that they stop Naruto jumped right back up again with renewed vigor. Already, with Kakashi adjusting his grip two or three times, the boy had begun to hit the practice target dead-on. The child was a genius that learned by doing. Only a day had passed, and already the child was an expert with kunai and shuriken, with the right instruction.

Kakashi almost felt guilty about leaving the kid alone for the first three years of his life.

The blond looked up at him, "Hey, Inu! Why are you wearing your dog mask now, are you on duty?"

Kakashi chuckled, "Yes, it is my duty to look after you!" Naruto's face fell. "But . . . your father was my sensei. I am Hatake Kakashi." The boy's face lifted at the mention of his father and then his face filled with awe as what the ANBU revealed registered in his mind. His father's student the Yondaime's student, was teaching him! His face split into a wide smile.

"Oh, okay Kakashi-nii! So I was thinking dattebayo, do you think it might be possible for me to have special chakra like okaa-san?"

Kakashi stared at the blond bundle of energy for a full minute before responding with a shrug, "Anything's possible."

"Kakashi-nii, I'm going to become Hokage one day dattebayo!"

"I'm sure you will."

Naruto grinned before returning to his training.

ooOoo

The Hokage stared at the demand in front of him made by Kumo. They wanted the death of the one that killed their emissary, or the treaty of non-violence would be null and void. Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled before he began to pen out a reply. Thankfully, Naruto was not ninja yet and due to the fact that he was protecting another technical civilian, their actions were completely justified. The Raikage would not be willing to risk war over this so soon after the end of the last one.

Hiruzen smiled as his brush met the blank scroll.

_Raikage-dono,_

_I am surprised by your demand. I am sure that your daimyou would completely agree with me, you see, you violated the treaty by attempting to kidnap the Hyuuga heir. As such, you have no right to demand anything of us._

_The one that you want is a child and not a ninja. Our Will of Fire does not allow us to give him up. As a result, I regret to inform you that our agreement is null and void due to your ninja's attempt unless he was acting without orders._

_Sincerely,_

_Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen_

Hiruzen rolled up the scroll and handed it to his secretary before turning back to his paperwork. It was up to the Raikage now, to do what he would.

ooOoo

Kakashi was prowling through the clothing store like a child afraid of getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

He was picking out the standard slacks, and black sandals, a mesh shirt, with a long-sleeved over shirt that most jounin would use under a flack jacket, and a white jacket, with orange stripes along the hem and going down the arm. Naruto would look just like his father, especially once the kid became a chuunin, which Kakashi was pretty sure wouldn't take all that long.

The kid had already unlocked his chakra and memorized the hand seals, all the while proclaiming loudly that he was going to become Hokage, and that if Kakashi just let him study seals, then he'd be able to make his parent's proud.

Kakashi had had mixed feelings when he first started training the kid, but in the short two weeks that the kid had been with him - and attached himself to Kakashi's hip, he'd also attached himself to Kakashi's heart. He was like the little brother Kakashi never had, but would have had the Kyuubi never gotten out.

One thing he'd noticed in the two weeks he'd been taking care of the blond, however, was that when he went out with Naruto people would glare at the child, reminded of the Kyuubi. Kakashi, feeling particularly spiteful, wanted to freak everyone out with how much the 'Kyuubi Brat' looked like Yondaime.

He snickered under his breath as he grabbed another two pairs of blue and black slacks, making sure that orange was somewhere, if only a line of fabric.

ooOoo

Naruto stared at the package that Kakashi gave him in wonder. No one besides the old man had ever actually given him a present. He looked up at Kakashi-nii for approval and received an eye-smile in response before he tore the package open and stared at the Shinobi outfit in happiness.

He ran to the bathroom in his ANBU quarters and quickly changed into the outfit before jumping out as the spitting image of his father.

Kakashi smiled psychotically imagining the creeped out faces of the village.

"Kakashi-nii, can you teach me the academy stuffs?" Naruto asked with all the hope that the three- year old could muster.

"Sure." This kid was going to rock the Elemental Nations.

As they walked down the corridors of the ANBU headquarters, they were subject to many stares, but Naruto seemed to be ignoring it. He was jumping skipping, going back to Kakashi, and running ahead again.

ooOoo

Hiruzen looked at the council that had been called and scowled. Koharu, one of his old teammates, triumphantly smirked as she spoke up to address the council, Hiruzen burning holes into her back.

"Kumo demands the life of our jinchuuriki due to the death of their emissary on the night the treaty was signed." With that she nodded ever so slightly to another council member, Shimura Danzo and as she was moving to sit a chorus of voices rose up, mostly from the civilian side.

Just as Hiruzen was about to respond he paused. Hyuuga Hiashi stood up and everyone quieted, "Kumo attempted to kidnap my heir. Had _Naruto_ not been there, they would have succeeded. Due to his services to the Hyuuga clan we extend to him our protection and proclaim him a friend of the Hyuuga." He sat down and glared at the council, daring any to go against the child.

Hiruzen smiled, bowing his hat slightly to hide his face before lifting it again and addressing the council.

"Kumo has already received my answer. They can forget it, as can you all."

"But, Hiuzen!" Koharu began but the old man silenced her.

"That is my decision."

"But . . . he cannot be allowed to roam free! He killed a man!" a civilian cried, and Danzo smiled cruelly. It seemed he'd finally get the jinchuuriki to mold into the perfect weapon.

"He is being trained by one of my most trusted ANBU." And his plans for the boy came crashing down.

"Who?" Hiashi inquired curiously.

"Hatake Kakashi."

"The last surviving student of Yondaime?" Uchiha asked with a scowl and still upset that a non-Uchiha had the Sharingan.

"Hai, he seems to have taken to the boy." The aged Hokage replied with a smile.

"But . . . he killed a man! What if he turns on our children? The boy cannot enter the academy, he is dangerous." That same civilian shouted in panic. Some other Shinobi voiced their agreement while the shinobi clan heads shook their heads in disbelief.

Hiruzen himself simply sighed and nodded in assent, "He won't need the academy, Kakashi will teach him all he needs to know and as soon as the child is ready he will take the graduation test and become a Shinobi. After that he will be under my command and you will not have to concern yourselves with him. Now, all we can do is wait for Kumo's response. There will be war, or there won't. If that is all, I think this meeting is over."

The council was grumbling as they left, however Hiashi stayed behind and approached the man. "Please give this to the boy and tell him, should he need anything of the Hyuuga, all he needs to do is present this to one and they will help him. We will forever be in his debt." The clan head gave the Hokage a pendant and left, leaving the few remaining in shock.

Hiruzen, however, smiled and stood to take the boy his gift and write a letter to one of his old students.

ooOoo

Kakashi took one look at Gai, his 'eternal rival' and sighed. "He's my apprentice," He explained and smirked when Gai began to cry exasperatingly.

"Kakashi, you beat me at getting a disciple to whom I can teach my flames of youth!" Naruto peeked out from behind Kakashi.

"Kakashi-nii?"

"Kakashi! He sees you as his brother? No! I will not be defeated! I will find an apprentice of my own! And if I do not, I will climb the Hokage Mountain using only my toes!" Gai went running off into the village, aiming for the academy and proclaiming the wonder of youth, hoping beyond hope that he'd find a disciple worthy of his teachings.

Kakashi looked down to the frightened form of his sensei's son.

"Was that a mutant frog? Because I like frogs, or rather toads, but that was just creepy." Naruto whispered clinging to his nii-san and refusing to let go.

"No, that was one of the jounin, but don't worry, he's one of the craziest. He's completely unique and, hopefully, when he gets an apprentice the child will not follow in his sensei's footsteps completely.

"Oh! So, he's strong but freaky dattebayo?"

Kakashi stared at Naruto for a moment before throwing his head back in laughter, "Yes! Exactly!" Kakashi affirmed between laughs and giggles.

ooOoo

Jiraiya stared at his spy in shock, his sake bottle hitting the table with a thunk. Kumo had demanded the life of a child of Konoha because one of their emissaries died while trying to kidnap the Hyuuga heir? Surely Sarutobi-sensei wouldn't . . .

Jiraiya flew to his room, quickly packing, and rushed as quickly as possible back to Konoha.

ooOoo

The Raikage reread the Hokage's letter and scowled. He didn't really want a war, but he had expected the peace-loving Hokage to jump at the chance to avoid it before he would be called on his bluff. But no, the Hokage had called him on it and now he wouldn't be able to follow through with his threat. Kumo simply did not have the resources at the moment for another war. Maybe in three or four years they would, but certainly not at the moment.

Raikage A slammed his hand onto his desk, effectively breaking it before barking to his secretary to call a council. The negotiations with Konoha had failed; perhaps he'd have better luck with Iwa.

ooOoo

Jiraiya had traveled for two days before he made it to the gates of Konoha. Once he had, he immediately searched for signs of preparation for a war. Seeing no obvious ones, he assumed the worst. Had his sensei really handed the child over to Kumo? Thoughts of the like haunted the Gama-sennin's mind as the sage headed through the window of the Hokage tower.

"What's this I hear about Kumo demanding the life of a child?" he growled at his old sensei that looked up at his entrance.

"Ah, Jiraiya! I've meant to contact you!"

"Answer me old man."

Sarutobi sighed and looked down, "Naruto-kun saved the Hyuuga heiress and the seal cracked. The Kumo nin died and the Raikage demanded the culprits head." Jiraiya's eyes had gotten large and he looked about to murder his sensei who suddenly looked up and smiled, "I told them to stuff it, that it was a child, and that they broke the treaty first; they had no legal right to demand anything."

Jiraiya stared at his sensei with a new found pride. The man still had a backbone when it really counted. Then he thought about it some more and froze, "What has Kumo said?"

"They can't really say anything, I did tell them that I would not tolerate that. And they did break the treaty. If they try to ignore that we have Suna. Kiri is in the midst of its own Civil Wars and both Kumo and Iwa are still recovering from the last war. We'll be fine."

Jiraiya looked skeptical, but sighed and nodded. "I sure hope so sensei."

ooOoo

Kakashi had decided that he would teach Naruto tree climbing and water walking because the kid had way too much chakra to make a simple bunshin and terrible control. And so, the next morning that was what he planned to tell the little blond.

"Alright, Naruto. Today we are going to learn how to climb trees." Kakashi nearly laughed at the incredulous look on Naruto's face.

"What about the bunshin?"

"This is a step toward that!" Kakashi eye-smiled at his charge, "Concentrate chakra to your feet and climb!" to add effect to his words Kakashi began to slowly climb the tree vertically. Naruto's awe-filled eyes actually made Kakashi feel good about himself - if only slightly.

"Okay, you try, but start at a run."

"Watch! I'll get this down by nightfall." The boy declared with such conviction and confidence that for a moment Kakashi actually believed the kid

"Just don't exhaust yourself. I'll be over here if you need anything."

"Hai!" And so Naruto tried . . . and tried . . . and tried.

"Kakashi-nii?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"You're really good at this dattebayo. Can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?"

Kakashi smiled.

ooOoo

The child was right . . . he _did_ learn the tree climbing by the end of the day. And he was bragging to any that would listen to him in the ANBU dining area. Considering he was not even four yet and could already tree walk, the ANBU had proclaimed him a prodigy and told Kakashi that he should look into teaching a bit more.

One, however, had his doubts and readily voiced them. He was called Tenzou. "Don't you think you're pushing him a bit too much? He might not have had enough chakra. Why teach him something so difficult?"

"He doesn't have the control for the bunshin or the regular henge because he has too much for chakra his age. He's made the henge solid but it uses much more chakra. With better control, as soon as he learns the bunshin, technically, he could pass the academy, what with all the history lessons I sneak in before he sleeps, and our hour-long sessions of shougi, logic puzzles, and math."

"He can actually do all that? A solid henge? That must take a lot of chakra . . . it would make him perfect for infiltration . . . "

"Maybe in another year he'll graduate. He still needs to work on the academics. He's getting the hang of it though, and it shouldn't take too long."

"And how long have you been training him?"

"About a month. Come on Naruto, it's time for you to go to bed!" Kakashi called out to the blond that simply looked up and smiled brightly.

"Okay, Kakashi-nii! Can you tell me more about Yondaime and that cool flashy jutsu?"

"No, today I'm going to tell you about Obito-nii and Rin-nee!" Kakashi replied with a sad smile seen by none, yet all, the ANBU.

"Who were they?"

"Some very good friends of mine and students of Yondaime along with me!"

"Really? Cool, they must have been great ninja! Can I meet them?" Naruto asked enthusiastically and yet Kakashi-nii, for some strange reason got a really sad look in his eye that Naruto could identify immediately. He'd seen it in the mirror many times before. It was loneliness.

"They're no longer with us. They are heroes of Konoha."

Naruto's head lowered and he suddenly wasn't so excited. But, then he remembered, his otou-san knew them (and TAUGHT them) so they had to have been great people. Naruto's head lifted and he looked up at Kakashi-nii, "So . . . what were they like?"

And they left the cafeteria, and three dozen shocked ANBU, and returned to the blond's room where Naruto learned all about Uchiha Obito and Rin, their team medic. This in turn led to a long winded history lesson, told in simple terms for the three and a half year old, about the founding of Konoha, the Senju and Uchiha, and how the Shodai Hokage fought Uchiha Madara.

Naruto really wanted to meet the Uchiha and make friends of them; they seemed so cool!

ooOoo

Morning came all too soon for Naruto, but he smiled widely when Kakashi-nii told him that today he'd try the bunshin and that if he didn't get it he'd learn to walk on water. The child, that was not yet four years old, grinned in anticipation.

Regardless, Naruto _really_ wanted to impress Kakashi-nii and so he focused really hard on making a bunshin. And he made two . . . dead ones. Sighing in defeat, Naruto scratched the back of his head, a habit he had unknowingly picked up from the ANBU from said ANBU's babysitting duties a year ago.

"Well, it looks like we have a bit more work to do. Come along, this is the second stage of what you learned yesterday, you have to keep a steady stream of chakra to stay up."

"But . . . I don't know how to swim . . ." Naruto replied shyly.

"Don't worry, I'll fish you out and we'll learn swimming another day!" Kakashi's smile raised Naruto's spirits immediately.

His first attempt was as successful as a wet cat. His second . . . was perfect. Kakashi couldn't even hide the fact that he was smiling.

"Alright, try the bunshin again. If you can't do it, I'll go talk to the Hokage."

When Naruto failed again he nearly cried, but, Kakashi-nii simply place his hand on Naruto's head and smiled. "Practice some taijutsu for a while, I'll go talk to the Hokage. Don't feel bad! Most children your age can't even throw a kunai straight!"

Kakashi's smile was enough for the three-year old. As he began to practice his kata Kakashi-nii left. But due to the fact that Naruto was still high off of the praise he continued his excercises, he was too delirious with happiness to even wonder if this was all a dream or if Kakashi-nii wouldn't come back, because Naruto knew Kakashi-nii would come back. He had too.

ooOoo

Kakashi entered the Hokage's office in full ANBU attire. There he found the Toad Sanin, Jiraiya, and the old man himself.

"Hokage-sama!"'

"Ah, Inu! How is Naruto's training going?"

"He's almost ready to graduate the academy," the Hokage's pipe nearly fell out of his mouth and the Toad Sage openly gaped, "I teach him History in the form of bedtime stories and we spend two hours a day on academics. He has been found to be a natural at kunai and shuriken once his grip was corrected and is near perfect now. His taijutsu forms are getting steadily better, and when they are put into practice he proves to be very unpredictable. Ninjutsu . . . he's learned two of the academy three."

The Hokage's shock was palpable. "He's only three!" Jiraiya whispered.

"However," the two old men looked up at the teenage ANBU, "he doesn't have enough control for the bunshin. I've taught him tree-climbing and water-walking, but it's still not enough. Do you think the fox could be interfering with his control?"

"It's possible. Perhaps another type of bunshin would be better for the child. Find out his elemental affinity. If it's water or earth, teach him one of the ones you know. If not . . . perhaps we can teach him kagebunshin, as long as he understands its dangers. His healing ability and the Kyuubi should negate it, but just to be cautious he should be aware of what it entails."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

"And Inu . . ."

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"This is a thank-you gift from the Hyuuga. Perhaps Naruto would like to play with some Hyuuga children? He shouldn't have to grow up so fast just because he did an honorable service."

"I'm sure he'd enjoy that."

Kakashi left as swiftly as he had arrived and Jiraiya turned to his old sensei, "That kid is a genius, maybe an even bigger one than Minato and Kakashi combined!"

Sarutobi smiled, "And he has the will of fire already . . . he claims that he will be Hokage and protect what his parents sacrificed their lives to protect. He may very well be my next choice if I live long enough to see him grow."

Jiraiya's small smile was enough to lift the Hokage's spirits; he hadn't seen his student smile since the night Yondaime died. That boy was destined for great things.

ooOoo

"Alright, Naruto, channel some chakra into this." Kakashi-nii held out a paper to the blond.

Naruto looked curiously at the paper and then up at Kakashi with a curious expression on his face. "Why?"

"It's for training. We're going to see what kinds of jutsu are more natural for you to do.

Naruto's eyes lit up in anticipation and he furiously concentrated on the slip of paper in his little hands which promptly split in half, startling the child.

"Just like his father," Kakashi mused out loud.

Naruto looked up hopefully at his surrogate brother, "What does that mean? What does that mean!"

"Your elemental affinity is wind and I can't teach you any of the elemental bunshin as there is none for wind."

Naruto's face fell.

"It also means the Hokage has given me permission to teach you the kage bunshin." And Naruto's interest was piqued, "Now this is a kinjutsu. Do you know what a kinjutsu is? No? Well then . . ."

ooOoo

When Naruto heard that he was a 'friend of the Hyuuga' he thought it was a joke. At least, that was what he thought before Kakashi-nii gave him a necklace with a flame emblem on it. After that, he wanted to go meet that girl that he'd saved. That was what led to the two walking around the village in the direction of the Hyuuga compound.

All around glares were directed at the blond. He didn't yet understand why they glared, but he was very glad that he had Kakshi-nii as he clung to his surrogate brother's jounin uniform. The kid didn't want to wear his outfit until he became a genin, which Kakashi-nii said he was qualified to become, but wasn't because he still needed to learn a few academic things that would help him over all as a ninja. However, he couldn't wait until he could look just like his father and nii-san!

Naruto skipped into the compound, once they finally arrived, and startled a few Hyuuga that were not used to hyperactive children. The glares had ceased outside the Hyuuga gates, but there was something else in their eyes. It was a feature unfamiliar to the child; they were grateful. Not used to the approval by so many people at one time, Naruto clung closer to Kakashi's pants than he had before.

Naruto breathed out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding once Kakashi-nii stopped them at the door to the clan-head's office.

"Hello Hyuuga-sama, this is Naruto. He'd like to see Hinata-sama and see if she'd like to be his friend!" Kakashi introduced with that perpetual smile on his face and placing his hand on the blonde's mass of hair that, due to its untrimmed state, was beginning to look like his father's.

It was yet another ploy by Kakashi to freak out the villagers.

"Hai, we have met before. You have the clan's gratitude Uzumaki Naruto." Said blond blushed, not used to the praise but happy with the acknowledgement.

"I'm going to be Hokage one day! Kakashi-nii even said I might become a genin soon!" Naruto proclaimed loudly, slightly startling the Hyuga clan head who simply nodded.

"Hinata is with her mother at the park." The clan head told the one-eyed ANBU captain.

Naruto began bouncing with excitement, "Ooh, ooh! Kakashi-nii, can we go see Hinata-chan? Maybe she'll let me play with her!" His head bobbed up and down as he desperately tried to reassure himself that when she acknowledged him that night a month earlier had not just been a fluke, and that her mom was not going to pull her away like so many others.

But he was awesome, so he shouldn't worry, right?

Kakashi smiled and looked up at the Hyuuga head that simply nodded and returned to his paperwork – the bane of all those in the position of authority.

ooOoo

"Ne, ne, Kakashi-nii! Who's that?" Naruto pointed at a tall woman with midnight black-blue waist length hair.

"Her?" Kakashi received an affirmative nod, "She is Hyuuga-sama."

Naruto rolled his eyes at his surrogate big brother. "I know _that_! Her eyes say so! I mean who is she? She's so pretty, almost as pretty as okaa-san was!"

He received a bop on the head. "That is Hyuuga-sama, as in the wife of the clan head and mother of your little friend."

"Oh!" Naruto rubbed his head where his brother had smacked him and looked up playfully angry at his brother, "You should have _said_ so!"

"Ah, well. Come on, let's go introduce ourselves!" No sooner had the words left the teenagers mouth than the blond grabbed a hold of his brother's hands and began dragging said brother toward the 'pretty lady.'

"Hi! I'm Naruto, and I'm going to be Hokage one day dattebayo!" the blond proclaimed to the Hyuga matron.

ooOoo

She'd been having a relatively peaceful day. After the near kidnapping of her daughter, many in the clan had been slightly nervous, and once they heard of Kumo's attempt to demand compensation in the form of the life of the one that had killed their ninja they'd been more so.

She shuddered to think what would have happened had one of the Hyuuga been the one to stop the Kumo nin. Would the Hokage have been as firm in denying Kumo, or would one of her clansmen been sacrificed for the good of the village? She had found herself very grateful to the blond jinchuuriki that had saved her daughter, and found herself thinking back on her days in the academy where another Uzumaki had proclaimed that she would be the first female Hokage.

From what her husband had told her, the two acted very much alike and he was already showing small signs of the verbal tick for which that female Uzumaki was so famous.

She was startled out of her thoughts when a blond, the same blond that had occupied her thoughts moments earlier, came up to her and proclaimed, "Hi! I'm Naruto, and I'm going to be Hokage one day dattebayo."

If she hadn't known any better she would have thought that her old schoolmate had switched bodies with said schoolmate's crush of which everyone knew but did not have the courage to confront her about. However the blond was looking at her with expectant, and surprisingly guarded, eyes.

"Oh really? Well, you had better listen to what your teachers tell you then!" she replied to the waiting blond with a smile on her face.

"I do!" he replied with a pout which he quickly replaced with a smile at the nice lady that hadn't yelled at him yet. "Kakashi-nii said that you're Hinata-chan's mom! Do you know where she is?" He asked slightly shy but not at all put off by the regal woman.

Her entire face lit up as she thought of Hinata's first real friend. She needed a friend. "Why yes I do. She's somewhere in the playground. Why don't you go look for her?"

The blond, too exited from actually get permission from a mother for once, went bounding away quickly in search of the lavender-eyed girl that he'd met a month earlier.

"Thank you." Kakashi told the Hyuuga once the boy was gone and she turned to him with a small smile on her face.

"Hinata needs this friendship just as much as he does, I believe. She is too shy for her own good and . . ."

Kakashi turned to the Hyuuga lady, "Is something wrong?" She had activated her doujutsu.

"There . . . there are those bullies again. They pick on her because she stutters and because she is of the main house."

"Should I go stop . . . " she had a smile on her face and had turned off her doujutsu, "them?"

"No, it's alright, it seems Naruto has just found her and scared them off with a well placed punch." She turned her smile to the one-eyed teen. "Thank you for bringing Naruto here today! I'm sure this is simply the start of a wonderful friendship between the two!"

ooOoo

The Tsuchikage leaned back in his seat with a perpetual smile on his face. So Kumo had failed in their attempt to capture the Byakugan? They risked war in calling for the murderer of their dead ninja? With the two forces of Iwa and Kumo they'd be ready for war in three years, and then Iwa would get its revenge on Konoha for what the Kiiroi Senkou did.

He leaned over his desk to write a reply to the Raikage. They'd strike at the Chuunin exams that were set to be held in Suna in three years time, and then Konoha would have no allies on which it could fall back. It was perfect, absolutely foolproof. There would be no recovery for the arrogant Konoha-nin!

ooOoo

On Naruto's fourth birthday, he ditched Kakashi on his lessons and spent the day at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand. Teuchi, the owner of the stand, was really nice, and Ramen . . . ramen was heavenly. There was no equal.

Ichiraku even boasted about how the Yondaime Hokage came and ate there with some redhead - that Naruto knew was his mother - and she was his best customer, being able to eat bowls upon bowls of ramen.

And so, Naruto decided that since ramen was so amazing, and since his mother was such a big fan, he would be too!

ooOoo

A four and a half year old Naruto looked around the corner of the ANBU headquarters' main hallway. If all had gone according to plan they'd all be running out in five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . bingo.

In every hallway was a Naruto clone that, as soon as it came into contact with the now multicolored ANBU after him, would henge into a Gai that looked as if he had been thoroughly doused by a water dragon. And in spandex that does not look good at all . . .

The blond snickered as he sneaked into the kitchen that had been vacated by the ANBU and poured powder into the ramen soup. It was laughing powder designed to make even an Aburame laugh.

He quickly crept out and hurried to his room before dispelling all his clones. The prank had gone without a hitch. The Hokage mountain had been painted using disappearing reappearing ink last night that would disappear as soon as he applied it and reappear when a clone applied chakra and the paint bombs had been set off by low key explosive tags. His diversion had gone perfectly and he wasn't even caught yet.

Mind you, he respected the Hokage greatly, especially his father which was why he left that one mostly alone and only added a nosebleed because face it: his mom was gorgeous and his father would have to have been gay to not have had any naughty thoughts of his mother which he knew was not so considering he was alive, but he couldn't show absolute favoritism on one Hokage and not the others and he needed a huge diversion to keep _all_ the ANBU busy. They all had the same treatment. Especially since Kakashi-nii had been late for their weekly shougi matches.

Naruto didn't like shougi, but to be late when you set something up is just rude!

He froze when he heard the knock on his door. They caught him already? Shoot. He'd have to work on his escape tactics a little more.

He slowly opened the door and plastered on an innocent smile on his face. It completely fell apart when he looked at the many colors of all the ANBU. Their masks and hair were not spared. Weren't these supposed to be the elite . . . although he did catch them in the headquarters . . .

He'd never get away with something like this ever again. Ah well, he'd just have to go BIGGER next time.

Uh . . . what's bigger than the Hokage monument? He'd have to consult Hinata-chan on this.

ooOoo

So, it turned out that the Academy and the Police headquarters were great targets to prank. All of the kids were older than Naruto, and he was due to go and take his test there within nine months, which meant that it would be nice and clean by the time he went, and he'd be off of his grounding!

He'd planned it for three hours, while he couldn't sleep, and had ten clones running around the Academy while everyone was asleep. The Uchiha-police had gone home for the day, and there were only two chuunin on guard.

He snickered as he put his plan into motion.

ooOoo

The next morning found all the academy walls in tie-dye, all the kunai bright orange, and the tests all written on. Ah, life was great. This time, Naruto was hiding with Hinata-chan at the Ramen shop!

"Wait what?"

"I'm going t be a big sister in late March or early April!" Hinata repeated, again a large smile on her face.

"Cool! I'm going to be taking the graduation test on April fifteenth!" he said brightly, "We can teach her to be a great ninja like us too!

"That's a great idea Naruto, though . . . I don't know if it'll be a boy or a girl."

"It'll be a girl." Naruto said convincingly. "And she'll be just as nice as you and your mom!"

ooOoo

"What is it?" Naruto had been staring at the wrinkled bundle in Hyuuga-sama's arms for about five minutes and he still couldn't understand where Hinata's little sister was.

Much to the blond five year old's irritation everyone chuckled. He wasn't a ninja yet! They shouldn't laugh at him for not knowing something. He looked back to the wrinkled little bundle.

"Well, what is it?" He was getting quite impatient.

"T-that's my new little sister."

"Why is she so small?"

"That's how babies are, silly!" he leaned closer to look at the child.

"Are you sure she'll get bigger?" his skeptical face made Kakashi unable to keep his snort of laughter contained.

"Yes, Naruto."

"Hey Hinata-chan, were you ever like that?"

"A-ano, I think so!"

Her okaa-san's laugh was like a chime. "So were you, Naruto-kun."

"Psh, me? Never! I'm going to be Hokage one day! That's not what a Hokage looks like!" he pouted and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Even mighty Hokages were once this small." His wide eyes displayed his incredulity. "Watch, she'll grow to be a nice strong shinobi one day."

He leaned over the bundle again and sighed. "Well then, she'll need a nii-san too, right, and one that's not always so 'I'm a Hyuuga, I will suck your blood' or 'happiness' or whatever."

Hinata smiled and her cousin Neji glared. Life was good.

ooOoo

Naruto sat on the swing. Hinata was later than usual and he was waiting all alone at the park. His ninja test was almost coming up. This would be the last time he and Hinata would get to play. AND THAT DAMN THEME SONG WOULDN'T GET OUT OF HIS HEAD! The night before, Kakashi-nii had turned on the television and the theme song of the anime show was really catchy.

So as he swung he hummed and sang the only words he remembered. "I really want you to realize the fact that you're beautiful . . . hmmmm hmmm hmmm. If you'd notice your beauty, I would be happy. I'm thinking of you Please realize your beauty."

And that was how Hinata found him – sitting on the swing and repeating the ending of that song.

"Hinata-chan!" the word was more a whine than anything else and Hinata's eyes widened. Was he talking about her? She felt her face heat up and things started to get black. She couldn't see anything! But she could hear . . . odd.

She was blind and getting dizzy.

"Naruto-kun?" her panicked cry brought him running.

"Hinata-chan, are you okay?"

"Naruto-kun, I can't see!"

"Sit down Hinata-chan! I'll help you."

She sat and her vision began to return. "Naruto-kun, thank you, I can see again. Ano . . . what were you singing?"

"Hm? Oh Kakashi-nii turned on the TV last night and the song's been stuck in my head since then! Hey, why were you late, Hinata-chan?"

"A-ah, my otou-san wanted to work on some more juuken a bit." Her head lowered. For a moment she had thought that . . .

That was the day that Hinata discovered that she cared about Naruto's opinion of her and how he felt about her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Naruto was practically jumping in his seat waiting for the rest of the students taking the exam to finish the written test. He was nervous, oh goodness he really hoped he passed, but he knew that if he didn't Kakashi-nii wouldn't be mad.

Of course, there was no reason why he shouldn't pass. He'd been ready to graduate for two years now! It was just . . . Kakashi-nii had said that he would let Naruto sign his dog contract if he became a genin. Now, he wanted to sign the toad contract like his father but he loved the dogs, they would stay with him whenever Kakashi-nii had to go on some top secret ANBU mission. The only way Kakashi-nii had gotten him to agree was through a bribery that Kakashi-nii had worked out with the Gama-sennin and his toads.

Naruto would sign the dog contract upon his graduation from the academy and the toad contract when he became a chunin.

So, yes, he was nervous. He was desperate to start his official path to Hokage. These past few years had been great, but he was ready to get serious and become a real ninja like his parents and big brother!

He sighed and stared at the clock. Would the test never end?

ooOoo

Scratch that. Was this test a joke? Naruto had passed the projectiles test with flying colors and his taijutsu confused the instructors, but really? Just make three clones and automatically it's a pass?

He rolled his eyes, made his favorite seal for his favorite kinjutsu (besides the one he'd created last year to get away from the ANBU that one time . . .), channeled his chakra, and made three perfect kage bunshin.

He loved the looks on their faces. It took them a moment to recover but they did.

"Congra-" the one with a scar across his nose began but was cut off by his long haired partner. Naruto wasn't sure if it was a guy or not. . .

"You didn't do the bunshin."

Naruto scratched the back of his head with a smile on his face, "Yeah, well Kakashi-nii said that no matter how many chakra control exercises I try my chakra just acts funny on that jutsu. So, he talked to Hokage-oji and they told me I could learn kage bunshin! It's great for inflit-, no that's not right . . . infiltract . . . inflation? No. . . . Infiltration! Yeah, that's right!" He nodded his head to himself determinedly and proud that he'd remembered the big word.

The other chuunin examiner nodded and replied, "Well, if it's a medical condition, and considering you're capable of creating a bunshin, you pass! Congratulations! "

Naruto took his hitai-ate reverently and stared at it for a moment. He was now, according to the law, and adult. His five year old mind nearly exploded in excitement.

"Thanks! Bye! I've got to show Kakashi-nii!"

"Hey, wait a minute, we still have the cerem . . ." the kid had already disappeared. ". . . ony."

"Ah, he'll figure it out." The other examiner replied dismissively while opening the door for the next genin hopeful.

ooOoo

Naruto sped past the villagers with high genin level speed, that he and Kakashi-nii were still working on improving, searching for said brother. His hitai-ate was clutched in his hands tightly and he wanted to show his brother.

"Kakashi-nii! Kakashi-nii!" he shouted as soon as he got to the ANBU headquarters.

"Why hello Uzumaki-kun." Naruto looked toward the voice, "Did you pass?" and found a jounin with his hitai-ate used as a bandana, tied in the front, and a senbon in his mouth.

Naruto's face broke out in a fierce smile, "I did dattebayo! With flying colors, whatever that means. Kakashi-nii is always saying weird stuff like that! Ooh" his face scrunched up in his excitement, "I can't wait to show Kakashi-nii, do you know where he is? I have to find him!"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on. You need to slow down a bit."

His head cocked to the side and he scratched his head, "But Kakashi-nii and I are working on our speed . . ."

The jounin chuckled and shook his head, "That's great in training and fighting, but sometimes it's best to just relax a bit. Now, I don't know where Kakashi is, but I'm sure he'll be here soon." The jounin smiled and Naruto, finally remembering his manners scratched his head, yet again, and smiled up at the juonin.

"Eh, you kind of have me, you see you know my name but I don't know yours dattebayo!"

One eyebrow lifted, "My name is Shiranui Genma."

"Genma-san, Genma-san . . . Where have I heard that name before?" The blonde's face scrunched up in concentration, "Oh I remember! You were Yondaime's bodyguard or something! Though I don't see why a Hokage really needs a bodyguard . . . yeah! Kakashi-nii told me all about Yondaime dattebayo!"

"Well," Genma paused, the kid looked familiar, and not just from the glimpses he'd gotten around the village or from the gossip of off-duty ANBU. Minato-sama surely didn't . . . he needed to talk to the Hokage, "don't push yourself too hard! I'll tell Kakashi to go to the graduation ceremony if I see him!" Genma waved and prepared to have a talk with the Hokage but the comical widening of the blonde's eyes made him stop.

"There's a graduation ceremony?"

Genma nodded, "Yeah, it should be starting in five minutes."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Naruto's rapid exit left the dust turned up and Genma found himself coughing almost as badly as Hayate usually did.

ooOoo

Naruto made it back to the Academy just as the ceremony began. He couldn't help but feel slightly out of place, though because all the new genin ranged from ages ten to twelve. Nevertheless, he went around looking for Kakashi-nii and trying to ignore the glares of the civilian parents.

"Where is that lazy, late jounin?" he whispered to himself under his breath.

A hand came down on his head, "Where's that hitai-ate?" a cold voice rang out from behind him.

Naruto grinned and turned around holding up the blue cloth to his big brother, "Kakashi-nii! I did it!" The sinister look on Kakashi's face disappeared as if it had never been there at all and Kakashi's smile of pride, somehow visible through his mask almost meant more to Naruto than all the respect in the village. Kakashi's opinion was important to Naruto, but Naruto had always asked why he couldn't make his cake and eat it too . . .

"Oi, Kakashi-nii, can we have ramen today? We haven't had it all week!"

"Sure!"

ooOoo

Shiranui Genma had always been calm and collected, and this was no exception. So when he entered the Hokage's office, through the door thank you very much, he had a schooled expression of pure indifference on his face.

"Ah, Genma-san," Sandaime exclaimed at his entrance, "what can I do for you today?"

Now, Genma was not one to beat around the bush before nor was he willing to do that now. "Minato's choice was not by chance, was it?"

The Hokage's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "This is a bit abrupt, is it not?" Genma shrugged.

"I met the kid today. He looks a lot like his father, especially with his hair done like that, although I guess you already knew that."

The old man nodded, "Yes, he has many of his father's attributes, as well as his mother's. However he is very much his own person, which I believe helped Kakashi come to terms with their deaths. What was your point in coming all this way? I know it can't have been just to confirm the child's lineage."

Genma nodded, "Raido, Katsuo, and I are the only ones in the village capable of using Hiraishin. It's, technically, a family jutsu. I request to be his jounin sensei."

The Hokage remained silent for a moment, "Kakashi won't be overly happy, but I guess I can promise Naruto to him once Naruto's a chuunin . . ."

The two men shared a smirk, "I'm not going to steal him from Kakashi, they're free to spend as much time together as possible, I just want to teach him Hiraishin and the only legal way I can do that is to be his jounin sensei."

"Yes, the village needs to remember the will of fire. What better way to for that than to have the one that they blame to protect them and care even though they might not . . . Yes, I'll set up a team under you Genma-san. Thank you!"

ooOoo

Naruto and Kakashi-nii had been at Ichiraku and Naruto, after five bowls, still showed no signs of stopping. However, knowing his wallet was not endless Kakashi brought up his hand, "Now, now, I think you've had enough for the night, you're going to have your team assignments next week and you still need to sign the dog contract. Come on, I'm sure they'll be ecstatic to hear you passed!"

"Eh . . . what does ecstatic mean?"

"It means excited."

"Oh . . . oi Kakashi-nii, do you think my teammates will like me?"

"If they don't, you can always bug them until they do." He sighed, "I'm sorry I was slightly late to your graduation, Naruto. It's just Gai was going on about how he'd finally found an apprentice worthy enough to study under him and he wouldn't let me leave. I think he's still sore over the fact that you graduated . . ."

"Gai . . . the freak with caterpillars for eyebrows?"

Kakashi snorted, "yeah, but don't tell that to either of their faces. They may look like freaks, but their personalities are more so. Come on, next week we begin operation 'Doppelganger!'"

"That's the one where I dress up like dad and freak out the villagers, right?"

"Yep!"

The two shared deranged smiles before they continued on to the ANBU headquarters."

ooOoo

The week seemed to be teasing Naruto with how slow it was going. No matter what Naruto tried, he couldn't seem to make time go by any faster. He couldn't pull any more pranks on the ANBU or jounin, because he was a ninja now and had to grow up, (whatever that meant) and Hinata-chan was training with her dad and spending time with her little sister Hanabi-chan.

Hinata-chan, he didn't know how much time he'd have left over to spend with her, but she was his best friend and he was determined to make some time, no matter what it took. I mean really! Who knew how Hanabi-chan would turn out without his attitude sometimes! She lived with people that were colder than marble! MARBLE! That's a stone and they didn't get really hot, at least they didn't when you placed a hot pan on them . . .

So that was how he found himself in the library looking for fuuton jutsu and anything about fuuinjutsu, his Uzumaki heritage.

He found quite a few scrolls on fuuinjutsu, which he sent a clone to check out and begin studying and only one fuuton jutsu with a reference to some guy named Sarutobi Asuma who was, apparently, not in the village at the moment.

So much for that . . . Naruto was bored! Maybe the dogs were too . . . Nah, too much work. He was bored but the dogs weren't the best of company when in the village. He'd let his clone study fuuinjutsu while he went to the park. Maybe Hinata-chan would be let out earlier than usual.

ooOoo

The week took a while to pass, but it eventually did and so when he went back to the academy, faces turned and stared at the Yondaime's mini clone, rubbed their eyes to make sure they were awake, used any and all genjutsu releasing techniques they knew, and some even fainted.

For there was Naruto in his Yondaime get up sans the chuunin/jounin flak jacket but complete with the cape. And Kakashi-nii was at his side.

He couldn't help it, he was excited. He was going to get a team and hopefully they'd be like Hinata-chan and be his friends. He certainly hoped so.

Once at the academy he found that he couldn't sit still in the hard wood and was practically bouncing and trying to avoid the disbelieving stares of his fellow genin. They all seemed to have a hard time believing that a genin could be five for some strange reason.

The door opened and out stepped that chunin with the scar on his face. "Hello! This is the day that you go out and serve the village. These teams that you have today will be like a second family! Teams will come and go, but the most memorable teams are usually your first. Now the teams are as follows . . ." Naruto zoned out.

"And Team Nine will be Uzumaki Naruto," he perked up, "Inuzuka Hana and Haruno Ichirou. Please go have lunch; your jonin senseis will be here when you're done!"

Naruto looked around to the two kids that had been called and smiled brightly at the girl with red triangles on her cheeks and the boy with Uzumaki red hair before he walked over and scratched the back of his head.

"You want to go get something to eat at Ichiraku Ramen?" he asked and they both grimaced.

"You're what five? That's my little sister's age." Haruno sneered and Naruto paused in his happiness at getting a team.

His eyes turned steely and he faced them, "I've been ready to graduate for two years now, so don't underestimate me." Then his whole face transformed, "I'm going to be Hokage dattebayo!" The two preteens stared at one another and then at the five year old in front of them.

"Alright then, what can you do?" the Inuzuka asked cautiously and Naruto glad that the ice was almost broken.

"Well, I can do a solid henge, which Kakashi-nii says no one else can really do because it uses so much chakra and I can do kawarimi pretty good too! And I can't really do bunshin because it only needs a little bit of chakra-"

"Wait, you can't even do a simple bunshin? How did you even graduate?"

Naruto smiled slightly, "Medical condition. And I did the kage bunshin – a kinjutsu that Kakashi-nii had to ask the Hokage-ojii permission for! Anyway I can throw kunai pretty straight . . . and Kakashi-nii has me trying to figure out shougi . . . but that's just really weird and I'm not too good at it. . . uh . . . why are you staring?"

For, indeed, they were. The blond was an enigma to them. He was so unlike how they thought he would be. He wasn't too cocky, like one would expect of child prodigies. Rather, he was desperate for friends and seemed to try almost too hard to make friends of them.

He reminded Hana of her own little brother, if not a little less if only because he wasn't her brother and so she said, "Why don't we all go get some Ramen like you said, then maybe we can get to know one another a bit more."

The smile she got from the little child was more than enough to confirm her thoughts of the blond. "Yeah, that's a great idea! Kakashi-nii is always saying that teamwork is important. That's something Obito-nii taught him!"

"Jeez, how many big brothers do you have?" Ichirou commented a little annoyed, and immediately regretted it when the blonde's face fell.

"Well . . . Kakashi-nii and Obito-nii aren't really my brothers . . . I'm an only child and my parents are dead. So is Obito-nii. But . . . Kakashi-nii knew them all and he's been telling me all sorts of stories about them from the last war! They're pretty much family to me! Hey, Hana-chan?"

"Hm?"

"Will you be my nee-san?"

The shock on their faces was priceless and yet Naruto was being completely honest and waiting for her answer.

Hana slightly smiled. Maybe having a five year old on the team wouldn't be so bad . . . as long as he pulled his own weight. "Sure."

The blond nodded and continued to his favorite ramen shop.

"Hey, what about me? Am I too good to be your big brother?" Ichirou shouted annoyed yet again and Hana smiled before playfully punching his arm.

"Oh get over it. You're just jealous because he likes me better!"

ooOoo

"Genma-san? Is it Genma-san? It is Genma-san! Hi Genma-san!" Naruto shouted as soon as Genma walked into the academy room.

"So this is Team Nine? I'm not impressed. And that's Genma-sensei to you from now on." He smirked through his senbon as the boy's face twisted into a grimace. "Alright, come on! We're going to go take a test."

"Another test?" Ichirou asked with very little excitement.

"Yes, all jounin give a test to each team. There is a sixty-six percent fail rate." He loved freaking out newbies, "And so what you have to do is get past me and steal the key to my apartment. There are only two though, and the one that fails to get a key will be sent back to the academy. Except Naruto. You'll go back to train with Kakashi a bit more."

They all wore identical looks of shock on their faces, yet strangely enough Naruto had a contemplative look on his face.

"But . . . we're a team." They all turned to look at him. "and that math doesn't make sense. I'm not too good at book work but I do know that if only one person a team failed then it would be the other way around in the percentages. And Kaakshi-nii's always saying that we have to put ourselves above the team," he was getting nervous now from all their stares, "and that chuunin said that the team would become family . . . I'm getting it all wrong right? Well, I waited for two years to become a genin; I can wait another . . . so you don't have to fail them." He had shut his eyes tight and awaited the judgment of his jounin-sensei when Hana's arms wrapped around him.

"If he fails then I fail. That's what big sisters do!"

Naruto looked up at her with a new expression on his face. She was willing to fail with him? He heard Ichirou suck his teeth.

"Damn, and I thought the team dynamics were so great. Look buddy you're not going to get a better team. I'm with them."

Genma found himself smiling through his senbon. "That was the easiest test ever administered. Congratulations, you are now all officially genin of Konoha. Be ready early tomorrow morning for our first mission." And then he was gone.

Naruto clung to Hana-nee and looked around to his teammates. "What just happened?"

ooOoo

Naruto decided he hated D-rank missions. They were chores, really. And at least he got paid to do it. But he found that it was very annoying. He'd asked once if his clones could help and Genma-sensei said no! That these missions were to build character and teamwork.

He'd show them character!

Not really, he was just getting really sick of it. That was why he sent a clone to study fuuinjutsu and fuuton jutsu while he had his missions.

Genma-sensei had them doing D-ranks from seven in the morning until seven at night. And then they'd run around Konoha for two more hours with periodic breaks consisting of push-ups, sit-ups, and kata exercises.

Yes, it was beneficial, but Naruto was beyond tired by the time the week was up and Genma-sensei said it was time to learn clan jutsu or whatever it is that they wanted to learn.

Naruto found out that Ichirou liked kenjutsu, which sounded, at least to Naruto, suspiciously like kinjutsu, and genjutsu. Hana-nee wanted to be a medic, but mostly a vet for her nin dogs, and so had run off to do that.

But what really shocked Naruto was that when he proclaimed he wanted to learn fuuton jutsu and fuuinjutsu Genma-sensei smiled and had given him a book on even more advanced seals than he'd been studying.

"Eh, why is this so advanced?"

"I think you'll be able to handle it." He said it with a smile . . . so he knew, did he? Well, Naruto would just have to work harder on his stealth.

ooOoo

It was just another typical day of D-ranks, but this one was taking ridiculously long! They were looking for that cat again, and apparently they were the best at finding her, never mind the fact that Hana had three dogs that were very good at scaring the cat away.

No, they had the best success rate for this mission and so were perfect for the job. What a bunch of morons . . .

"Hey! Get back here you devil's spawn. Come here so I can skin you and make you into a coat that I can give my sister for her next birthday!" Ichirou shouted in the midst of the chase.

"You know, I don't think the cat wants to be skinned . . ." Naruto began in an offhand manner.

"Ugh! Let's just get this mission over with! It's not like we have all day!"

"Why do we even have to do these stupid chores so much?" Naruto sighed, "Alright, how about we do that third formation that Genma-sensei talked about?" The other two nodded and they set about laying the trap for the kitten with very little enthusiasm. Once this mission was done they'd probably go weed a garden.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi was tired of all the politics her grandfather had to organize. Why couldn't they just kill off all the offending nations? It didn't make sense. When there's a tree in the road, you don't ask it to kindly move; you chop it up and roll it away. So why was her grandfather playing diplomat and why was her father so readily agreeing to it?

She had just become a genin the day before - at the tender age of eight - and now she was heading to her grandfather's office, so she was pretty sure it was important.

"Ah, Kurotsuchi. Just who we wanted to see!" she looked around to find the Raikage, Tsuchikage, and her father in the office.

"What?" she asked slightly intimidated but not willing to show it. She crossed her arms across her chest.

"You and your team are going to go to the chuunin exams in Sunagakure." Kurotsuchi grinned widely at that. "After the third stage of the exams we will be invading Suna and hopefully destroy any allies Konoha may have. Then we will take Konoha and make them pay for what the Kirroi Senkou (Yellow Flash) did to our village. It's revenge."

Kurotsuchi smiled, "So we're going to make them pay for killing mom?" They all smiled. She was definitely for this. "Is Deidara-nii going to be there with us?"

"Absolutely," She smiled and bowed. "Your team will take a C-rank next week. That will get you the experience you need for the mission. You're dismissed."

She couldn't get out fast enough to go tell Deidara-nii.

ooOoo

Kirabi (Killer B) was waiting in the inn where the group of Kumo nin were spending the night and could not help but worry for his brother. He knew that A was a great shinobi on his own, he was Raikage, but Kirabi didn't want to lose his brother.

He sighed. Why more war? He knew that it was to make Kumo stronger, but he still felt bad for the poor Konoha-nin. They wouldn't know what was coming to them, and now that they didn't have the Kiiroi Senko they'd have no chance at winning any war anytime soon. He sighed and lay back in the bed. How was Yugito handling it back home? She was probably training some more - that hell cat.

Sometimes he hated being a jinchuuriki, but when he thought of his cousin and the Hachibi itself, he couldn't fault them. He faulted those around him that thought what they thought. They were the ones in the wrong, not him.

And besides, A was important to him, just as he was to A. Even if he had to stay in the village most of the time.

ooOoo

Naruto grumbled as he carried the cat to the Hokage tower. Making the cat face its worst nightmare always brought a smile to his face, as did all the faces of the villagers every time they saw him nowadays.

He really had to thank Kakshi-nii for getting him the outfit.

Thankfully Genma-san had had enough of the 'D-ranks on coffee' and decided to have them all train with a few of his friends. "Alright team nine, meet Raido and Hayate."

"Hello Raido-san, Hayate-san!"

"Alright! Raido will be working with Hana, Hayate will be teaching Haruno kenjutsu, and I will be working on Naruto's fuuinjutsu!"

Thus began the long tiring days of yet more training of which Naruto and his team were tired.

"Oi, Genma-sensei can we stop with all these boring missions? They're really getting on my nerves!"

His teammates froze. They agreed with the kid but weren't exactly keen on upsetting their sensei.

"Ichirou, you agree with me, right?" Naruto turned to the red-headed Haruno that sighed in annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah, they're annoying."

Genma-sensei raised his eyebrow and looked expectantly at Hana. She shuffled her feet a bit but finally caved, "Oh, please, the D-ranks are a joke and you know that too, sensei!"

Genma-sensei sighed and turned around. "Come on. Let's see what C-ranks are available today."

ooOoo

"Okay, what do we have . . . There's a caravan needing basic protection from bandits. . . Let's start you off with that!"

"Eh! A real mission? We'll actually get out of the village for once? This is going to be so epic! I gotta get those scrolls Kakashi-nii gave me!"

"Hold on! You need to meet the client first." Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Okay . . . but then can I go see Kakashi-nii and get all those storage scrolls?"

The old man sighed but nodded and Genma sighed too, this was going to be a long mission.

ooOoo

The night was black, there was no moon, and the Uchiha district seemed deserted. The streets of the district were so empty that when a little five year old ran through it seemed to almost have the same effect as a mouse trying to run for cover from the broom that was after its head.

Little Sasuke was scared. He'd never been so before, but for some strange reason the compound seemed scary for once. He knew where they all were, they were in one of the clan meetings and as soon as they were done Sasuke's nii-san was going to teach Sasuke how to throw Kunai. He loved his brother, the newly promoted chuunin, and couldn't wait for his brother to come and help him learn how to use the kunai.

He entered his house through the sliding paper door and dropped his bag at his bedside table. Every day he came home and waited for his brother. He really hoped his brother wouldn't poke his forehead again and tell him 'next time.'

It was always 'next time.' Either Itachi-nii-san was too busy with his shinobi duties or he had to train with Shisui-san. And so Sasuke waited. He'd be waiting the whole night.

ooOoo

The Uchiha had spent the entire night arguing in that dimly lit room under the family shrine. As things stood it would take a war to bring the Uchiha back into favor and a war to unite the clan. The elderly didn't want to plan a coup d'état, but the younger ones were sick and tired of their treatment at the hands of the rest of the village.

It wasn't until Uchiha Mikoto stood up that the arguing stopped, "Let's all just calm down. It is the Kyuubi's fault that we have this treatment. Why not let the jinchuuriki raise our own status." She paused; she had all their attention, "On the night of the Kumo incident the Hyuuga stood behind him, and . . . they were not ridiculed. The salvation of our clan may very well lie with the boy that proclaims from the Hokage mountain that he will be Hokage. He's is currently a genin. Please, put off the coup until the boy is completely accepted, because he seems to be headed that way. We are not the only one's suffering."

Silence reigned in the chamber for five minutes straight, but her clansmen nodded and silently left; only her son Itachi remained.

"Have you met him?" Itachi asked his mother with a curious look in his face.

"I saw him from afar while at the park. He acts so much like his mother. Should he prove to have the talent of his parents, he may very well be the next Hokage. And I did once say that I hoped he and Sasuke would be good friends . . ."

The two remained silent for a moment before Itachi spoke up, "I know one of his teammates in passing, her name is Inuzuka Hana. Her brother and Sasuke are the same age. Should her team happen to meet up with Sasuke and me, I am sure the three would get along nicely."

Mikoto smiled at her eldest son. It seemed he too did not want war. "That would be nice, hypothetically." Itachi smirked and then bowed before heading back to their home to find his younger brother asleep on his bed and daylight coming over the horizon.

ooOoo

Naruto smiled as he followed Genma-sensei out of the village. His first C-rank . . . he was so excited and Ichirou and Hana seemed to be feeling the same way.

"Oi, Nee-san! Wait up!" a voice called out and Hana paused and turned back. She smiled and Naruto decided he liked her smile and that whoever made her smile like that had to be worthy of being his friend.

"Kiba-kun, I have to go!" she ruffled his hair like Kakashi-nii did to Naruto so many times.

He buried his face in his big sister's shirt and said something that only came out as a mumble.

"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?" she asked teasingly and Kiba lifted his head and pet the small pups that Hana had at her side, the three Haimaru brothers.

"You be careful," he muttered.

"I will, it's only a C-rank!" he nodded and ran off waving goodbye.

"Hey, Ichirou, why didn't your sister come to see us off?" Naruto asked completely serious.

Ichirou scoffed, "I left them a note saying I was going off on a C-rank. My parents are pretty laid back, they get it- and won't really care all that much of a measly C-rank."

"Well, it's your first C-rank. That's pretty special. You should have told them . . ."

"Yeah, well you haven't met my mother. She'd fuss all over me if I let her."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah . . . I haven't met mine either . . . But, I'm sure I'd like the fussing" The trek toward the village where the caravan would stop and trade was awkward silent from that moment on.

ooOoo

"Hey, fatso, hurry up!" Kurotsuchi was not having a good day. Her team that consisted of Deidara-nii and Akatsuchi had been deployed on that C-rank and Akatsuchi and Deidara-nii were being as annoying as always.

They had been traveling for two days toward Fire Country and no matter what she tried she just couldn't make the time pass faster. And Akatsuchi's slow going wasn't helping any.

"No need to be so mean!" Akatsuchi grumbled as he continued, "Watch one day I'll be fast despite my weight and then you'll have to watch out."

Deidara smirked, "I bet you can't do it by the chuunin exams in Suna!" And Akatsuchi growled.

"Watch, I'll be a great shinobi and an important part of the invasion!"

"We'll see." Kurotsuchi drawled. And they continued along with a grumpy Kurotsuchi, an insulted Akatsuchi, and a smirking Deidara.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Hinata pulled at the weeds, adding a bit more pressure to get it out completely, before she looked up to her mother for approval. Her mother's approval was more important to her at times than her father's.

"Hinata-chan why aren't you out with Naruto at the park?"

Hinata looked down, "Eh . . . N-Naruto-kun went on a C-rank today . . . he won't be back for a week . . ."

Her mother's face softened, "Well then, let's make something for him!"

Hinata looked up again, "Like what?"

"Hm . . . how about we make him a card? Or get him that ink that you saw him ogling? It can be for his birthday!"

Hinata smiled and nodded shyly. She hoped Naruto-kun liked it. He always got this really strange look in his eye whenever she gave him some of her mother's cookies. Would he hug her this time too? She liked hugs . . .

She reached up to finger her now shoulder length hair. Naruto-kun liked her mother's long hair and she'd heard that his mother also had long hair. How much longer would her hair get by the time Naruto-kun came back?

ooOoo

The sun was very hot on the walk with the caravan to the village and the awkward silence wasn't helping in the cooling department.

Ichirou was being much too stubborn for his own good and Naruto just wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone for once. He had realized the one big difference between himself and his teammates.

They had a family and he didn't, at least not a real one. He kicked the dirt and continued down the road. They could already see the city where the mission would end now . . . it wouldn't take too long to get back home. Good. He missed Hinata-chan.

ooOoo

Rock Lee was tired, but very grateful that he was getting this chance. This jounin was amazing! Lee got up from the dewy grass and stretched before he jumped up and shook his entire body out.

"Lee, I will have you ready to graduate in one year, so I will beat Kakashi who was able to get his apprentice to graduate in two years! If I do not I will do five thousand pushups!

"I will not let you down Gai-sensei!" he couldn't not after all that Gai-sensei had done for him!

"Come on Lee! Let us spread our youth to the village! One thousand push-ups!"

"Yes Gai-sensei!"

ooOoo

Hinata held tightly to her mother's hand as they entered the shinobi store. "Okay, Hinata, why don't you go look at some stuff while I talk to the cashier?" Hinata nodded slowly before releasing her death grip and wandering around the store.

She turned a corner and looked at the shelves. There wasn't much to interest her. Her mother's voice drifted over the shelves and Hinata turned to go through another hall but when she did she stopped dead and stared at the tall dark haired guy with a scar across his nose in front of her. He looked down before she could get away.

"Hello. Who are you?"

"A-ano . . . I . . . I am Hyuuga Hinata . . . and you?" He smiled comfortingly and crouched down to her level.

"I am Umino Iruka."

"Iruka? D-dolphin?" He chucked before he nodded.

"I am a new instructor at the academy. I just started a few weeks ago."

"Ah . . . How old are you?"

"Fifteen." Her eyes were wide.

"You're ten years older than me."

"Then that means that you'll be entering the academy next year." She nodded again. "Are you ready for it?"

This time her face became animated, "Hai! Naruto-kun did it so quickly . . . I want to make him proud of me. He never gives up on me. He says one day I'll be an amazing Kunoichi! That's why okaa-san and I are here today! We're getting Naruto-kun a present in celebration of his first C-rank mission!"

His face showed his surprise at the change in her demeanor. "Oh? Naruto-kun is it? He's a genin? Must be pretty good. How old is he?"

"Naruto-kun is my age! He's an amazing ninja, he says he's going to be Hokage!" Her head lowered a bit, "I just hope I can . . . I hope I can make him proud . . ." Iruka smiled at the girl and then frowned. He'd been at the graduation last month and knew for a fact that the only one to graduate that was her age was the jinchuuriki.

It had caused a lot of talk among the shinobi.

He also knew that if the girl was here with a parent then that meant that the parent knew about her relationship with the boy. This girl was a Hyuuga, and by the looks of it a main-house member. What were they playing at? What had happened?

"Well, you be careful not to push yourself too hard. You won't make anyone proud if you can't move because you tried too hard. I have to go, but I hope I become your teacher at the academy!"

He left and Hinata felt that she had missed something extremely important.

ooOoo

The Hokage pulled the next stack of paperwork towards him and smiled at his clone beside him. When Naruto had learned kage bunshin he'd asked the Hokage why he didn't use kage bushin to do all that paperwork. Since then the Hokage's office had seen a burst of efficiency and he'd had more time to spend with his one year old grandson.

However today was not one of the days in which he could just go home. Iwa was getting more confident and Kumo seemed to have good relations with them. Everyday war seemed more likely, at least to the heads. The chuunin exams in Suna may very well save the world from another war, the problem was Konoha did not have many to send and he'd heard that Suna's only jinchuuriki was not very stable.

Of course these were only rumors. Still, if what was said about the Suna jinchuuriki was true then perhaps Naruto could help. Regardless, he needed to get the nominations for the next chuunin exams in a few months. Maybe he'd send Shikaku to work with Suna on the details over there. Yes, that seemed nice.

He finished the stack in front of him and stood, slightly startling his clone.

"Carry on. I'll be back in the morning, dispel when you no longer have the chakra to continue." And then he left to see his grandson and daughter.

ooOoo

"I just don't understand why we had to go all the way through Fire Country to get to Tea Country! We could have cut through River Country and taken a boat!" She jumped off a tree.

"Kurotsuchi would you stop complaining?" Her legs were cramping.

"Who asked _you_ Deidara-nii?" Her arms were aching.

"You're the one that asked a question." She was getting really annoyed now.

"Ugh, I'm tired. Can we stop for a bit and get something to eat?" Akatsuchi was always thinking about food. It was disgusting . . . but she had to agree.

"Hmph. Tired already?" She wouldn't let it show.

"We've been running for four days straight . . ." She paused.

"Alright, Alright. We'll stop at this village. One night, but then we have to head straight to Tea Country and back with our charge." Their sensei promised and she sighed in relief. A little bit more and she'd be free from these male idiots!

The village of Tanzaku Gai seemed very comforting at that moment.

ooOoo

Naruto had never been anywhere but Konoha before. Now, although this is normal for any five year old, looking around this village made Naruto feel really different. There were no glares for once. No one was making him feel that inexplicable urge to make someone accept him.

Naruto found that he liked this very much and was determined to make Konoha even better once he became Hokage.

He looked around at the tall stucco buildings while his teammates discussed the mission. Something about it being done and leaving tomorrow . . . Ah well, he'd ask Hana-nee-san later. The place looked like it was getting ready for some kind of festival and he had always wondered what festivals were like. He walked up to one stall and looked up at the stall-keeper.

"Why hello, little fellow. Are you playing ninja or something?" he shook his head.

"Can I play?" it was a target game. You had to throw the knife and depending on how far away from the bull's-eye you were you'd get a prize.

Very few civilians had managed it.

"Sure! Now you just have to throw it at that thing right there!" he handed the money to the store keeper and took the knife. Weighing it in his hand told him that it was moderately balanced, not like a brand new kunai though. He flipped it to get a feel for it, caught it, and tossed it with ease. The onlookers were quiet for a full ten seconds before they grinned. Except for the stall owner. He grumbled.

Naruto chose the giant dog plushy that was twice his size and went waddling with it back to his team. He wanted to give it to Hana-nee. She liked dogs, he knew that for sure. He saw his team not three meters away but paused. There was another group of shinobi just five meters away, about two from his team.

They looked pretty normal he supposed. Had he not spotted the metal plate of their hitai-ate then he very well may have dismissed it. Except for the tall guy with the vest, they were probably all genin.

The girl looked kind of intimidating, but not as much as the fat guy or the bond guy that had a kind of crazy look in his eyes, and it was as he was trying to get a look at their hitai-ate that Hana spotted him.

"Naruto! There you are, Genma-sensei and I have been frantic. You can't wander like that."

"Hey, what about me?" Ichirou's usual annoyed face had a trace of worry. But that was mostly overshadowed by the annoyance.

"And Ichirou was annoyed." She waved her hand dismissively and Naruto peeked around her to find that other team staring.

He flashed a smile and then froze. Iwa hitai-ate. They hated his father and by relation him. Naruto pulled up the stuffed animal to get Hana's attention, and it worked. Her eyebrows went up and she knelt down.

"This is for you dattebayo!" he said cheerfully as he handed it to her, leaned over to her ear, gave her a hug, and whispered, "There's an Iwa genin team behind you." She froze at those words, leaned away and frowned before continuing the facade.

"That still doesn't excuse you for wandering off."

"I know!" he smiled and went back to Genma-sensei's side and tugged at the pants leg. Genma-sensei looked down and nodded. So it hadn't escaped his attention? Good.

"Well, I think we'll head home now."

"What? What about spending the night?" Ichirou complained, doubly annoyed.

"Come on, don't complain. The sooner we get going, the sooner you can sleep." Naruto couldn't help feeling slightly sad. He'd have to go back to the glares sooner than he'd expected.

He sighed. At least he'd see Hinata-chan soon.

They left the village with the stares of the Iwa team at their backs and made it out without incident. Naruto let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. They were safe.

'I really hope the jounin didn't connect Naruto to Yondaime, but I'm not stupid, he probably did if he's worthy of his rank' was Genma's only thought as he led his team toward the road back home.

ooOoo

"Was that . . ." Kurotsuchi turned to her sensei. Any Iwa nin could have told you that had that little blond been taller and without the scars on his face he would have looked like the long lost brother of the Kiiroi Senko.

"It looked like it could have been him years ago. The Kiiroi Senko is dead; he died five years ago with no heir."

"That kid looked five." Akatsuchi whispered.

"Damn Konoha. He had a hitai-ate too." Their sensei now had a crazed look on his face and Kurtsuchi knew she was soon going to get her revenge for her mother. Sensei would make sure of it. "Come on. We need to get going. I don't want to stay here any longer. Let's get to Tea Country and back to Iwa. Tsuchikage-sama will want to hear about this."

Kurotsuchi looked to her sensei. "But sensei!"

"We're in their territory. Save it for Suna."

She sighed but nodded. It would be an international incident where Iwa would not have the upper hand. When the Suna chuunin exams came up, she'd have her chance to vent.

ooOoo

"Genma-sensei, why are we going so fast?" Ichirou was beyond annoyed now.

"They were Iwa. If none of them recognized Naruto I'll eat my ninja sandal." Genma-sensei seemed way too tense to be good for his blood pressure.

"Why would they recognize Naruto?" and Hana-nee had Naruto strapped down to her Haimaru brothers. He wasn't wandering off anywhere even if she did like the plushy enough to get him to put it into a sealing scroll before Genma-sensei _really_ picked up the pace.

"That's an SS-class secret. If you find out we'd better be in the village." And that was the end of the conversation. No one spoke again, but this time the silence wasn't awkward.

It was tense.

ooOoo

When the Tsuchikage received the falcon message he frowned. It looked to be a message from his granddaughter's team. What on earth could they have gotten into? He quickly ripped it open to read the message.

And then he had to read it again. Konoha had been hiding the son of the Kiiroi Senko? Possible. He was a genin at the age of five? Unlikely. The team had been spotted in the Land of Fire? Damn.

He gripped the scroll until his hands became white. That was it. He was going to smash Suna and then Kumo would help them obliterate Konoha. Secrets in the Ninja World get out, and this was a valuable piece of information.

Time to call the Raikage. He'd like to hear of this. He didn't like the Kiiroi Senko either.

ooOoo

Team Nine made it back to Konoha at twelve in the morning. No one had said a word since Genma-sensei had mentioned the SS-class secret. So that was why they walked to the Hokage Tower so stiffly. They walked in, placed the scroll among the returned missions which included mostly ANBU missions at this time of night and stopped their running.

"Meet here tomorrow at eight. The Hokage needs a direct account," and then Genma-sensei was gone.

"Besides seeing the Iwa team, not much happened." Ichirou casually said to strike up conversation.

"Yeah, but what were they doing here anyway?" Naruto's voice was too quiet. They almost didn't realize he had been the one to talk. "Iwa is a good four or five days away dattebayo."

"Yeah . . ."Hana absently pet her ninken around the ears, "They looked like creeps." She cast Naruto a sly glance, "Especially the blond."

It took him a moment, but he caught the jab and growled. "You know Yondaime was blond too!"

Hana's eyebrows shot up. "What's with your obsession with Yondaime? You know everything about him."

"Eh . . . he's my hero. I'm going to surpass him! Look I have to go now if I want to wake up in time to meet you guys at eight dattebayo, I'm sleepy. Bye!" and then Hana was alone with Ichirou and her dogs.

"Did we miss something?" Ichirou's usual annoyance was present as always.

"He's hiding something . . . well I'll see you tomorrow Ichirou! Come on boys let's get home. I'll give you tons of treats!"

"Tch. Great. I'll have to deal with my parents." He scratched his head but walked away in the direction of his house.

ooOoo

She was running. It was red. There was a dark feeling all around her. She felt like an animal trapped between a rock and a hard place. There was no way out. It was coming closer. Threatening to suffocate her!

Hinata sat up in her bed. Thank goodness . . . it was just a dream . . . a nightmare. Nothing more. It couldn't hurt her. She pulled her blankets down and lowered her feet to the cold wooden floor. From there it was just a hop and skip away to the restroom and another hop to her baby sister's room.

She opted for the restroom first, but when she was done washing her face she tiptoed into the dark room with the silk cradle.

"Hello Hanabi-chan." She whispered to the sleeping infant. "Grow up strong. Make the clan proud. But, most of all, make sure you become who _you_ want to be. That's what Naruto-kun is always telling me. And he's right! Sweet dreams Hanabi-chan!"

ooOoo

Gaara was not having the best of nights tonight. He never slept, but when he saw his uncle Yashamaru sleep, he felt this inexplicable urge to try it. The one time he had, it hadn't worked. He couldn't bring himself to enter the realm of dreamland.

When he'd asked Yashamaru the next day if there was a way he could sleep Yashamaru slowly took him by the shoulder's so as not to cause his sand to react and told him, "There is a jutsu that can force you to sleep, but you can never sleep, Gaara. It's not good for you."

"But it's good for you," he'd pointed out. He just didn't understand why he couldn't sleep.

"You're special Gaara." And then Uncle Yashamaru pat his head and gave him a glass of water before telling him another story about the mother that he never knew.

Tonight was like any other night except that the villagers had done it again. They'd called him a monster. Those glares . . . was he the only one that got them? If so, why? Why did they hate him so much. He wished Uncle Yashamaru wasn't asleep so that he could ask him but he knew the answer, "You're special," would be given, but the way Uncle Yashamaru told Gaara that it made him feel _really_ special and made him get this really warm feeling , as if everything was . . . right.

He looked out at the village and slightly glared. What gave them the right to be mad at him. He hadn't done anything as far as he knew. He wished he just had one friend. Just one, maybe then he'd feel special to more people, not only just Uncle Yashamaru.

ooOoo

When the Hokage stepped into his office and noticed the scroll for the C-rank mission he assumed the worst. Who reports a C-rank in the middle of the night? He didn't have to wait long.

At promptly eight o'clock Team Nine entered his office with a tense gait.

"How was the mission?" he asked cautiously.

"Completed without a hitch." Genma replied looking straight ahead. The Hokage raised an eyebrow in inquiry as his genin eyed him. "In Tanzaku Gai there was a team of Iwa genin and their jounin instructor. They got a pretty good look at Naruto."

"Iwa and Konoha are not on good terms, what were they doing here?"

"I presume a mission. They may have been stopping while on route which is pretty likely. The genin looked young."

The old man sighed and fingered his pipe for a good five minutes before he spoke again. "Train them Genma. Train them for the chuunin exams in Suna coming up in next year. I want them battle ready. Kumo and Iwa are up to something and I don't think it's good. Team Nine you are dismissed, do not speak of this to anyone."

They left the office in a single line, Genma-sensei in the back.

"Meet me in training ground nine at noon. Until then," he glanced at Naruto and smirked, "try not to make too much trouble."

"I'll try sensei dattebayo!" Naruto called as he'd already begun to drag his teammates to the park, "Come on! I bet Hinata-chan's at the park, I haven't seen her in forever dattebayo!"

"What are you talking about you talked to her before we lef-" Ichirou's words were cut off as Naruto gave an even more violent tug.

"Exactly -ttebayo! Forever!"

ooOoo

Hinata was beside her mother again, with her sister in the stroller, headed to the park with the nightmare on her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about it. It seemed vaguely familiar. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Hinata is everything alright? You seem distracted." Hinata smiled.

"No, okaa-san. I'm fine. I just wish Naruto-kun was here." No sooner had the words come out of her mouth than said blond appeared hauling two older kids that Hinata had never met before.

"Come on, you slow pokes! You've got to meet Hinata-chan she's amazing dattebayo! She'll be a ninja in no time, just you watch!" he looked up and saw her, "Hey Hinata-chan! How have you been?"

"Eep!" He was hugging her again! She felt her face burn up as she desperately tried to remain strong and standing. "Hello Naruto-kun. How was your mission?"

"Eh? It was great dattebayo! But . . . we ran into some Iwa-nin," her alarmed face prompted him to quickly follow up, "but it was fine! Nothing happened!" He scratched the back of his head. "Oi Hinata-chan, want to swing? I can push you dattebayo!"

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Her smile lit up his day, "I'd like that very much!"

ooOoo

Genma took one long look at his victims. "Alright, stretch and then give me ten laps around the training grounds before you get back here for one hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and anything else I come up with. Then it's time for sparring." He grinned.

'I really need to stop hanging around Anko at the bar and just stick to the guys . . .'

Team Nine was very tired by the time it came for the sparring and they stared at their sensei as if he had gone mad. They were aching everywhere. And it was only four o'clock.

"This is no time for laying around. Get up. Ichirou and Hana, taijutsu spar only."

And they were at it. Punches were thrown, blocked, and deflected. Kicks flew from every angle and the two were evenly matched. Hana had better form, but Ichirou had strength on his side.

When things came to a bit of a standstill Genma-sensei called out, "Anything goes, now."

And Hana won, strength in numbers and all that. Although, Ichirou did get her in a genjutsu before he was knocked out.

"Alright, Hana rest for ten minutes and then you and Naruto will battle it out." She rested and then stood up with her dogs at her heels and ready to fight.

Naruto quickly dished out ten clones that quickly charged; he began to get a feel for her fighting technique as she demolished his clones and smirked.

"You'll have to do better than that."

He smiled. "Okay Hana-nee. I'll beat you dattebayo." He rushed her and made five more clones. She attacked with reckless abandon and so did he. Remarkably, it ended when he was able to get back up and she wasn't. His legendary stamina prevailed.

But Genma-sensei sighed. It wasn't good enough. What if there was an opponent that had greater stamina than he, or he met a fresh opponent while he was still tired?

"We'll need to work on stamina for the two of you and more tactics for you, you little shrimp." Naruto pouted but nodded in acknowledgment. "I want Hana to spend a week on clan techniques. But no slacking off." The glare got her to nod quickly, "Ichirou, I have some genjutsu scrolls you can work on, but I want you to focus on kenjutsu with Hayate for the week. Naruto, you and I are going to study Yondaime."

Naruto's face spoke a thousand words. If there was a topic Naruto loved more than ramen it was Yondaime, his father though he'd never tell anyone (he'd promised Hokage-ojii), and his mother.

"You got it dattebayo!"

"We begin tomorrow. Study these tonight." He handed Naruto a scroll that had a blood seal and the word Hiraishin which he easily recognized, Hana a medical scroll which she readily opened and began reading, and Ichirou an advanced genjutsu scroll.

"Meeting time is eight as usual. Training will end at five so you can cool down before you eat your dinners. The Hokage has lowered our missions to one a week." The pure ecstasy on their faces at the thought of only one D-rank a week almost made him feel bad about telling him the next piece of news, "Which means even more time for endurance training." There went their smiles.

Ah, he loved being a sensei.

"Later." he quickly shunshined away leaving his gloomy team behind.

"Eh . . . we'd better get to sleep if we want to survive, right?" Naruto waved and began to walk away when Ichirou stopped him.

"You're going to see Hinata again aren't you?" the comical reddening of Naruto's face was too much for the redhead, but Naruto quickly regained his normal coloring.

"Hinata-chan is awesome. You're just jealous 'cause I like her more than I like you!" he stuck out his tongue at his teammate and continued on his way.

"Come on boys, we'll leave the tomato to figure that out." Hana left Ichirou in the training ground mumbling.

"Annoying." But underneath those mumbles was a smile. This team _did_ feel like a family. That chuunin at the team assignments was right. Naruto was the little brother he never had and Hana was the little tomboy sister.

Yeah, they were family. Now it was time to face his real family. Oh joy. Annoying.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi was beyond annoyed by the time they made it to Tea Country and their client wasn't making things any easier. He just went on and on about how his luxury foods were so scarce on the road and how they really should take his personal cook.

"Really! He's very well behaved, he'd won't cause any trouble at all!"

"Oh, so now he's a pet?" she muttered under her breath.

"What was that darling?" he asked in that annoying voice of his and she cringed. He was getting all over her uniform!

"Oh nothing, nothing! Nothing at all." She glared at his turned back and heard the snickering of her teammates.

"Don't." she ground out.

"Don't what, Kurotsuchi? We weren't doing anything!" Deidara was trying to make her angry. He was imitating that annoying little voice of the client.

"I'm not in the mood. I already wasn't allowed to kill that kid playing ninja because it would jeopardize the invasion, however, I'm pretty sure you're not important enough." They both gulped and stepped away. "Good choice."

She turned back to the client. This was going to be a long week if this guy continued talking.

ooOoo

Sasuke looked up at his mom as she prepared dinner and then to his brother. "Nii-san, can we practice more kunai tomorrow?"

He readied himself for the poke he knew would come. And it did. He rubbed on the sore spot for a moment and then looked hopefully up at his brother.

"Sure Sasuke. And after that we can go to the park. How does that sound?" Sasuke cocked his head to the side.

"But we never go to the park." His nii-san chuckled.

"There are always firsts. Come on, you may make friends and meet some of your future classmates!"

Now Sasuke was excited.

"Just don't stay out too late!" their mother's voice drifted from the kitchen.

"We won't okaa-san! I'll have him back by seven!" Itachi called out.

"Okay! Come to the table, it's time for dinner! We're having onigiri, so come and eat!"

"Does it have tomatoes?"

"Yes, Sasuke, just for you." came the amused voice of their mother.

ooOoo

Kiba was trailing his sister all night and she seemed to be getting really aggravated. Was it something he did?

"Oi, nee-san, are you okay? You seem kind of, I don't know, weird!"

Hana sighed, "We saw a team from Iwa while we were on our mission." His eyes got wide.

"But you said you'd be careful!"

"I was!" she defended brushing his concern off, "Nothing happened. They just . . . something is up with the Hokage, my sensei, and my teammate."

"Oh . . . but what about the team from Iwa?."

"That's how I found out that there's something big surrounding my teammate and that my sensei and the Hokage are both in on it."

"Oh, okay. Nee-san can you pick me up from the park tomorrow? Okaa-san said that I can go, she just doesn't want me to come home on my own."

"And with good reason, you're way too young! Yeah, I'll pick you up. Now get lost pup." She gave him a noogie and he scuttled away.

ooOoo

Naruto stared at the many different sealing stuff on his Hiraishin scroll. He'd asked Kakashi-nii how it worked and the two had quickly gotten down to dissecting the seal. Kakashi-nii even showed him one of the Hiraishin kunai that Yondaime had given him as a gift for becoming a jounin. He was pretty sure it would take him another week to figure out how it worked and at least two more for him to be able to get it down, but he was excited . . . or ecstatic.

That was a word that Kakashi-nii had taught him. Kakashi-nii was great, he knew how to put things simply for him which helped a lot especially when he was trying to figure out that scroll.

Now all he needed was to tell Hinata-chan. He'd see her at the park tomorrow . . . she always went there before and after training with her father. Yeah, he'd see her after a long day of training . . . ick, he'd smell disgusting.

But Hinata wouldn't mind too much . . . would she?

ooOoo

Shikaku groaned as he reread the scroll. He'd have to go to Suna for the chuunin exam preparations in three months. Telling his wife would troublesome.

"Shikaku, what's taking you so long, get over here and eat!" He sighed. His wife was much too troublesome sometimes. "You're going to take Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji to the park tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, Yoshino. I'm taking them all to the park." 'No matter how troublesome it is.' He added in his mind. "They'll be out of your hair so you women can do all that planning you wanted to do!" he walked into the kitchen to find his wife with a wooden spoon in her hand and immediately backed off.

"Good, because we have a lot to do. And you better not be back before seven!"

"I won't, I won't. I know you need this." She smiled.

"Of course I do!"

And that was the end of the conversation. Sometimes Shikaku found that agreeing with the woman was the easiest way to make things as non-troublesome as possible. Because things would always be troublesome.

ooOoo

Ichirou entered his home as silently as possible. This included bumping into the bookcase, knocking down his grandmothers urn, thankfully it didn't break, and stepping on the cat's tail.

Needless to say, he wasn't very silent.

His sister was the first one down, her pink hair very noticeable to anyone with eyes, and she immediately tackled him with a hug.

"You were gone before I could wake up! That was mean!" she clung to his neck and he had no choice but to pick her up.

"Hey Sakura-chan." He sighed. She was so annoying. "Yeah, sorry. I have to be out early tomorrow too." Her disappointed face almost made him cringe.

"We never spend time anymore." He rolled his eyes. 'That's because I have a life'

His mother and father were down at this point and hearing her daughter saying how she didn't have time with her brother now-a-days she glared.

"Just where have you been these past few days?" she asked.

"A C-rank mission. We had to go the village Tanzaku Gai. It's in the Fire Country. I left a note."

"But you didn't say goodbye! What if you'd died?"

"Mom . . . it was a C-rank."

She waved her hand, "It's the principle of the thing! Oh, I wish you'd never gone into the academy. That's all Sakura ever talks about now. I worry about you." He blinked owlishly.

His little sister, his imouto-chan, wanted to become a kunoichi? Maybe she wasn't as annoying as he once thought. She was still annoying, but maybe just a minute bit less.

"But you're a shinobi too."

"That's why I worry, sweetie. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you, could you pick her up from the park tomorrow at seven. There are supposed to be a bunch of kids her age there tomorrow and she needs to get more friends."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Thank you Ichirou!" He'd already begun moving to his sister's room to tuck her in.

ooOoo

Kirabi was glad to be back from Iwa. It meant that he could avoid all those curious gazes. And Yugito was here. It was fun teasing her. And she didn't look half-bad. In fact she looked great. He just wasn't the sort of guy to settle down and she wouldn't settle down with him anyway.

Being a female jinchuuriki was never a walk in the park.

He walked into his room and began putting down all his weapons. It wasn't comfortable sitting with all those things standing rigidly on ones back. He finished quickly and lay in bed for a good half hour.

Why couldn't he get to sleep? It was just a simple plot to start the next great war! Stupid Konoha-nin for foiling the plan to get the Byakugan. Stupid A for falling into the political trap he'd set. Stupid Kirabi for falling for the one girl that could never be his.

Uh . . . forget he said anything. He just wanted to sleep.

ooOoo

Neji was practicing his juuken in the courtyard of the Hyuga compound. It slightly irked him that Naruto had become a genin already. Perhaps his exclamations about how he'd become Hokage were not quite so far fetched.

It seemed that fate favored Naruto and he was left in the back row of fate's attention. He sighed, stopped his form, and took a sip of the tea his father had brought him. He was glad his father still gave him all the praise and attention that fate seemed determined to not let him have. He turned back to his kata and began them again.

If only there was some way to combat fate. His father had yet to find a way, but he was always talking about how one day he would. Yes fate would go down. He was sure of it. That was its fate.

ooOoo

Shino stared at the bug on his index finger in fascination.

"Otou-san, why bugs?" he asked with that adorable innocence only children can have.

"Why anything else?" and that certainly was the question. What was better than bugs to an Aburame? But that still didn't answer _his_ question.

"But why did our ancestors choose bugs?"

Shibi sighed, "Shino, some things are lost to History."

The boy nodded in consent. "may I go to the park again tomorrow to look at more bugs?"

Shibi smiled, a rarity for an Aburame.

"Why do you even ask, you don't have to. You've been going there every day since you were four."

"It's polite and an Aburame is nothing if not adherent to the rules of etiquette."

Shibi sighed again. His son was a strange one, but maybe the kids wouldn't ignore him tomorrow. Maybe he'd finally make friends. He had a weird feeling.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Sakura looked back at her mother as she was left at the park that afternoon. She'd never tell her mother, but whenever she was left here the other kids would tease her about her big forehead. She sighed and hid her face with her hair before resigning herself to another day of teasing. At least Ino-san wouldn't tease her. She had even said she'd come back today!

And best of all, her brother was picking her up. He was a ninja; they'd have to leave her alone with him around!

ooOoo

Yamanaka Ino smiled as she went to the park, not because of the current company she had but rather because she was going to the park at all. Her mom had allowed her to go the day before and late in the day she'd met the girl with the 'billboard brow' and had decided she wanted to see that girl bloom. That was why she had brought the ribbon.

When the trio arrived at the park, Ino made herself quickly scarce going in search of Sakura. The park itself was teeming with children from various civilian families and littered with structures conducive to child play. It was near a bench that Ino found Sakura that day and tied the pink haired girl's hair away from her face.

"There! They all tease you because you hide it, but if you show them that you're proud of it and don't care what they think then they'll leave you alone!"

Sakura stared in fascination at Ino. The reasoning seemed sound and Sakura felt slightly more confident with Ino by her side . . . what the heck.

"Thank you . . . Ino-chan."

The young Yamanaka stretched out her hand. "Come on, Sakura. Let's go play."

ooOoo

Shino had seen the entire encounter between the two girls from where he was hidden in the bushes looking for new bugs. It figured that he'd be ignored, but he'd seen that girl endure a lot of teasing and he felt happy for her. At least someone was happy.

He turned back to the bugs. They never judged a person on how they looked. His sigh went unnoticed by the surrounding civilians.

ooOoo

Kiba had gone to the park excited that his sister was going to come and pick him up and he had until then to do whatever he wanted. He wandered around the park and passed a blond girl that was being trailed by a girl with pink hair. He had to pause and stare at her for a moment. What person in their right mind would have pink hair? And that was one large forehead.

He shook his head and continued walking around the park when he heard a rustling bush. Now, he may not be a ninja yet but he was an Inuzuka; tracking was in his blood. That was not a normal park animal in the bushes. There would have been a smaller sound.

And what was that smell?

Kiba walked closer to the bush, pushed it away, and startled the boy his age with his voice, "What are you doing?"

The black haired pale boy jumped in shock and stared at him as if he was an alien.

"Why are you talking to me?"

"Eh, I asked first."

The boy hesitated in speaking; it was as if afraid his answer would scare off the only person that had attempted to speak to him. "I was looking at bugs." He looked away from the strange, curious boy with red marks on his cheeks.

"Why?"

Still shocked that the boy hadn't left, he answered the boy more freely, "I am an Aburame. We specialize in bugs. I was looking at the different species."

There was that transformation of facial features for which he was searching. However, the face became something he hadn't expected, "Really? So you're going to be a ninja? I'm an Inuzuka, we specialize in dogs. I haven't gotten my ninken, but my sister has! She has three and she's already a ninja too. I'm going to be a great ninja!"

Shino nodded and pushed his sunglasses further up his nose as they'd slid down from all the sweat from the conversation.

"I am learning clan techniques from my father. But every day I come to the park to look at the bugs."

"Really? Wow . . . I've got to get kaa-san to teach me stuffs. Well, which bugs were you looking at just now?"

Thus began the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

ooOoo

Naruto pulled his butt back up from the floor. Genma-sensei wanted tactics? Alright, he'd get tactics. Naruto pulled out a kunai and held it across his face before he made ten more kage bunshin and had a few of them charge his sensei while he threw kunai to see his sensei's reaction.

Seeing an opening, he rushed at his sensei's legs and then at the last minute jumped up and hit his head on the bottom of his sensei's chin causing Genma-sensei to bite down on the senbon in mouth hard.

"Ah . . . I think that's enough training for today." He rubbed his jaw, "Go ahead and go to the park, I know you've been trying to get away all day. Besides, it's five now."

"Yay! See you later Genma-sensei! I'll study Hiraishin tonight dattebayo with Kakashi-nii!"

"Yeah, once you have the seal memorized, come to me, we've got work on the actual execution," he called out to the disappearing five year old. "Man that kid has some stamina." Genma shook his head as he continued on to his own apartment for the day.

Meanwhile Naruto had rushed up to Ichirou, Hana, and the Haimaru brothers. "Guys, guys! It's time to go to the park!"

"It's five already?"

"Hai! We gotta go see Hinata-chan dattebayo!" he looked at them with those absurdly blue eyes of his and Ichirou and Hana quickly nodded to get away from those piercing eyes of his.

"Yeah, okaa-san put me in charge of picking Sakura up from the park today so as annoying as she is, I have to go."

"I promised Kiba I'd pick him up there too . . ."

"Great! We can go together!"

ooOoo

"Good job, Sasuke. You're doing great. Keep it up and you may graduate from the academy early." The praise from his nii-san made his face light up in happiness. His brother had acknowledged his progress! "Come on, let's go to the park." There was a small smile on Itachi's lips.

"Sure nii-san!"

ooOoo

Naruto had been going to the park at the same time every day since he was three and so when five o'clock approached the civilians vacated the park and the Hyuuga matron entered it with her two daughters.

However on this particular day, the Uchiha brothers – the sons of the clan head – also entered the park, Aburame Shino remained longer than usual because he'd made a friend and had been convinced into waiting to meet the Haimaru brothers, and Sakura had convinced Ino, and by association Shikaku and his other two charges, into staying long enough to meet her elder brother.

Therefore, when Team Nine entered the park it was much more populated than usual. The two eldest members of the team quickly cupped their hands to their faces and with the help of the Haimaru bothers in the form of barking, called out to their respective siblings.

And their siblings came running up to them with their friends.

"Who're they?" Sakura asked her brother.

"My team." He cast an annoyed glance to his sister.

"But . . . he looks to be our age." This time it was Ino.

"Yeah, wasn't he with you when you went on that C-rank?" Kiba had now begun speaking and openly staring at his sister's teammate.

"Can't you tell?" they all turned to Shino at his words. "He graduated early. He must be a very good shinobi." Naruto scratched the back of his head and sheepishly smiled.

"Graduated early?" a voice came out from behind them and Shino turned to face the owner of the voice. They all saw two very similar looking brothers and Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be Hokage one day!"

"You graduated from the academy already?"

"Yeah, I was kinda thinking that test was a joke though . . . I guess Kakashi-nii just taught me really great dattebayo! He's a great teacher! And he makes things make so much sense! Although, when he has me play shougi it's not as fun."

"Can you do any katon jutsu yet?"

"Eh . . . katon jutsu?"

The younger brother looked to his elder to explain what he meant. "What Sasuke means to say is do you know any elemental jutsu. The Uchiha clan is known for its strong general affinity to fire. However, you might not."

Naruto had a pensive look, which looked alien, on his face and had begun tapping his chin as if something were on the tip of his tongue.

"I think Kakashi-nii talked about this once. I think it was fuuton jutsu. Dattebayo. He had me channel chakra into a piece of paper and it split in half. I think he said I had a wind affinity and that was why I had to learn kage bunshin dattebayo."

"Then you're learning fuuton jutsu."

"Uh . . . yeah, but I'm not that great yet . . . Eh . . . what's your names?"

The younger puffed up his chest comically, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke and this is my brother Itachi. He's already a chuunin!"

"Eh . . . weasel?" the small voice came from the little Hyuuga girl standing behind the Uchiha.

"Hey, Hinata-chan! How are you today?"

"I'm fine, thank you Naruto-kun!"

"Oi, Hinata-chan, how's Hanabi? She looks kind of dead dattebayo!"

Hinata turned to her mother who smiled and replied, "She's fine; she's just sleeping."

Naruto smiled and turned back to all those assembled, "This is Hinata-chan, she's my best friend! Hinata-chan, this is Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba, and uh . . . I don't know the rest of your names."

When it came time for them all to leave at seven o'clock no one was happy, not even Shikamaru or Chouji, as they were content to just sit around and watch the clouds and eat chips respectively. Naruto and the Uchiha brothers stayed behind while the rest left though because Sasuke and Naruto were in a deep debate on which was better: the Yondaime and all the Hokage or the Uchiha.

Just guess who chose which side.

Naruto, having these stories as bedtime stories, had extensive knowledge on all things Hokage, yes, even the paperwork, and Sasuke, being born in a clan that held great pride in their ancestry had countered with his own arguments.

"I just don't see why you Uchiha can't be more like Obito-nii!" at that Itachi jumped.

"Obito-nii?" was Sasuke's response and Naruto smirked.

"Yeah, Obito-nii. He was Kakashi-nii's old teammate that died in the third war. They were students of Yondaime and he acted a lot like me! Or at least that's what Kakashi-nii says dattebayo."

Sasuke was silent for a while.

"And he was an Uchiha." This had been added by Itachi, and they had both looked up to him in surprise. "Well, Sasuke, it's time we head back home. Okaa-san is probably worried about us. Maybe we'll see you tomorrow Naruto."

Though they had had argued for the better part of two hours, Naruto felt he had made a very good friend out of Sasuke.

ooOoo

The next day Naruto had gone to Genma-sensei and told him, "I need to learn fuuton jutsu better dattebayo."

"Oh? And why is that?" So he wanted to try this the hard way? Well then, Naruto would have to show him just what he was made of.

"I need fuuton jutsu so that I have something to throw at my enemies, Genma-sensei. Something that's not just kunai!"

"And how will you fit that into everything else you have to do?" He had a point there. Naruto spent five minutes thinking about it before he gave an answer.

"I'll just study fuuton with you, I mean it's not like Kakashi-nii can do any fuuton jutsu and study Hiraishin and shougi at night! I promise I won't slack off!"

Genma sighed. He had a dilemma. Let the boy do what he wanted and risk not improving the kid's tactics or not let him and risk having the kid defenseless except for the Hiraishin.

"Fine. On one condition."

"Anything!"

"Kakashi needs to periodically report to me that you are doing your homework." Naruto groaned but agreed and Genma led him to the shinobi library where they found five scrolls on nature transformation and fuuton jutsu.

And of course Naruto, having had Kakashi as a teacher quickly put his clones to work on the leaf cutting exercise. He'd have it down by the end of the month.

ooOoo

Jiraiya had been in a brothel when he heard about it. War was stirring up?

"Here have another drink!" he may have acted drunk, but he was very sober, nevertheless the image his large waving motions projected was just what was needed to get their tongues looser.

"Yeah, from what I heard it was like Kumo and Iwa were getting more and more of their genin battle ready faster and they've been way too chummy or something." He took another swig of the sake bottle. "So yeah. And there seems to be something fishy . . . about . . . the chuunin . . . exa-" the guy passed out.

Well, he'd known that Kumo wasn't going to just lay down and take it, but to ally with Iwa. He had to tell the Hokage, Suna and Konoha had to be ready for the worst.

ooOoo

Naruto had miscalculated, however if you asked him he'd probably stumble over the word a couple of times as Kakashi-nii had just introduced it to him the day before. It had been four months before he truly understood what Hiraishin did. He'd mastered the leaf cutting in that time, and had cut a waterfall with his chakra, but still didn't understand quite what Kakashi-nii was saying about how Hiraishin worked.

It was slowly making sense, but he wasn't quite that good at it yet.

He was so frustrated with it that he pulled his hair and groaned. "Kakashi-nii, I still don't get it!"

Said jounin sighed. "Look, this isn't complicated, it takes you somewhere and then if you don't have the seal out there you're stuck in that place because you don't know where to go! And you need to be keyed into the seal too, so it's not like you can just copy it out."

Finally, the concept made sense. It had only taken four months, and now he only had eight months until the chuunin exams, but he finally understood.

"Oh!" the look of enlightenment on his face gave Kakashi pause. He'd understood now? That was better than he'd been hoping.

"Alright, squirt go ahead, go to the park. I know you want to."

And Naruto did.

ooOoo

For the past four months the group of nine kids had gone and met at the park and while Naruto pulled Hinata around showing her all the things he'd learned, Sasuke followed them around and offered his own comments leading to verbal fights between the boys, Ino and Sakura picked flowers and discussed being kunoichi eventually, Shino and Kiba would discuss the superiority of their clan's techniques, and Shikamaru and Chouji would watch clouds and eat chips respectively.

But they'd all begun to come together as friends.

Naruto was deemed troublesome because he'd graduated early, but otherwise he was okay on the rare occasion that he joined Shikamaru and Chouji to watch clouds with Hinata and Sasuke.

In fact Naruto and Sasuke were almost as close as Naruto and Hinata. However, Hinata would always be Naruto's best girlfriend. Sasuke was his best guy friend. The two argued like cats and dogs, but they had fun doing it. They frustrated each other to no end and made each other want to show each other up at every opportunity, but it was done with an undertone of comrade-ship.

And the fact that Naruto had already graduated was really getting on Sasuke's nerves. The few D-ranks that Naruto had to endure did not dampen his smugness over Sasuke.

ooOoo

"Well, I think you're ready for another C-rank." The entire team almost fell over themselves in shock.

Genma-sensei had nodded; they were definitely ready. Hana's skills in medical jutsu had improved by leaps and bounds in the six months she'd been cultivating it and her clan jutsus were nearly perfect now. Ichirou's genjutsus were quite efficient and kenjutsu was coming along nicely. And Naruto was Naruto. He'd mastered three fuuton jutsu and his Hiraishin was coming along; he'd teleported once.

Yes, Genma's team was ready for a measly little C-rank.

ooOoo

"Oi, Ichirou do you think we'll run into some trouble?" they had been tasked with escorting some annoying little guy to his parents on the other side of Fire Country and the mission would take two months. Two months with the brat that wouldn't shut up about how he was so great. He was older than Naruto by two years and hadn't stopped griping about how unqualified Naruto was.

"Look, I just don't see how a five year old is going to be able to save me from anything!"

"Neither do I." They all froze. That was not a voice from their party.

Turning toward it their eyes widened for standing before them was some tall guy in a black cloak with white rimmed red clouds, that had gills, was blue, and had a mummy looking thing on a stick strapped to his back.

"Uh, who are you?"

"Hoshigaki Kisame." Genma-sensei had said this, "He's an S-class nuke-nin of Kirigakure and a former member of the seven swordsmen. What do you want?"

"Hehe, kids playing ninja, huh? Well, I have to take that brat. Not the five year old, the other one. Although, the five-year-old does look interesting."

"What are you crazy? We're not handing him over to you! Our mission is to protect him you moron! How annoying."

"Naruto," Genma-sensei placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and leaned over the blonde's shoulder speaking quietly while Ichirou kept the nukenin's attention, "Get the client out of here as soon as possible. There's a Hiraishin seal in the Hokage's office. "

"But . . . I don't have it down completely. And I don't want to leave you guys." His voice was trembling.

Genma-sensei's face betrayed nothing, "It's the only way, get the kid out of here.

Naruto paused for a moment before nodding and taking out two scrolls from his pouch, wrote a quick message to the Hokage to tell him what was going on in case he fainted and tied it to his belt.

He nodded to his sensei before walking to the client and hesitating. He was worried about his teammates.

"What good do you think that'll do?" The fish freak took the stick from his back and brought it forward with a malicious smile and Ichirou quickly began a genjutsu.

"Heh heh, it's not going to work," He immediately began to suck Ichirou's chakra. Ichirou had a substantial amount, about mid-chuunin level, but the chakra drain was too much. He collapsed.

"Ichirou!" Hana growled along with her dogs.

"Hana, be careful." Genma-sensei again. One of his students had gone down. Chakra based attacks wouldn't work. "He'll suck up chakra, you need to use taijutsu," she nodded, "We work together."

They both surged forward and Naruto was left in the back with the brat that was now curled up in a ball.

The dogs latched on to the man, Genma-sensei shot senbon from his mouth, and Hana grabbed Ichirou's sword before she brought it down on Kisame's.

"Hana-nee, Genma-sensei!" they both got pushed back, Hana was unconscious now too, and the blue freak was about to bring the stick down on Genma-sensei's head. "No!" Naruto rushed forward, completely forgetting his orders, and created a multitude of clones that took the hit and stopped the blade while some of the cones he had made had gathered his teammates and was shielding them all, even the Haimaru brothers. All around him was a cloak of red chakra that seemed to have a mind of its own.

And his body . . . His body was transformed. His whisker birthmarks were more pronounced, his hair stood on end, and his eyes were slit and red instead of their usual blue.

"You won't touch my friends!"

The blue freak brought his stick forward and the red chakra began to leave him, but not quickly, and the freak had a crazy look on his face. Naruto was terrified; he grabbed all his teammates with his clones and the shaking client and concentrated really hard.

He was gone in an orange flash of light.

ooOoo

Kisame had been given a mission to help raise funds for Akatsuki and had thought it would be an easy job because he wasn't going after the bounties for which Kakuzu was a fanatic. He'd expected a regular genin team. He had _not_ expected a jinchuuriki that could teleport across large distances.

For the kid had. Kisame could not sense the chakra anywhere nearby. Well, that would be his first failed mission since his genin days. Damn.

ooOoo

Naruto's eyes had shut tight when he felt that weird sensation hit him. He'd only felt it once before, and he quickly concentrated on that seal to get them to Hokage-ojii.

When at last he opened his eyes he found many chuunin staring and the Hokage.

And the yellow flash, for the red chakra had dissipated, had caused them all to gasp in shock. A mini Yondaime had appeared with his teammates and a trembling client.

"What the heck was that?" the seven year old client cried out and Naruto collapsed unconscious just as Genma-sensei sat up too weak to do anything else.

"Hoshigaki Kisame tried to kidnap the client," he breathed out and gasps came out. "I told Naruto to get the client out, but he hesitated. All of us were down, and the Kyuubi's chakra leaked out. Naruto saved us all, but ugh," Genma clutched his chest. He was much too low on chakra. Samehada had gotten close enough to drain him of a lot of chakra. "Naruto used a lot of chakra to get us all back."

"Hokage-sama?"

"Take them to the hospital. As soon as Naruto wakes up I'll tell him about Kyuubi."

ooOoo

It was dark and there was a weird dripping noise. Naruto looked around and stared at the weird cage in front of him. The last thing he remembered was arriving in the Hokage's office.

There was a rumbling coming from the cage; he got a little closer.

" **Come closer."**

He paused. "I don't think that's such a good idea. Who are you? What's your name?" There was a pause. Not one of his former jinchuuriki had ever asked him his name before.

" **Kurama."**

"What? And why are we here?"

There was a dark chuckle, **"So they didn't tell you?"** Naruto frowned.

"Who? Tell me what?"

" **Why don't you ask that Hokage of yours?"** The owner of the voice appeared and as soon as Naruto got a good look his eyes widened.

"Kyuubi," he breathed, "But otou-san and okaa-san killed you!"

" **Ha ha ha! I am very much alive, just sealed away."**

Naruto's face betrayed his shock. "Like okaa-san . . . okaa-san and otou-san must have known. They did it, right." Naruto got a fierce look in his eye. "They trusted me to keep the village safe! But . . ." the Kyuubi had a name. That was something new to him. "Did okaa-san know your name?" There was a curious look on his face and the Kyuubi once again frowned.

" **No. You are the first to ask my name, although I guess it's because you're such a gaki."**

"I'm not a gaki! I am Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be Hokage one day so that everyone will acknowledge that I'm a person! I've got friends now too! Ano . . ." Naruto looked down, "you look lonely."

" **What do you expect? I went from chains to a cage."** Kurama put his head down on his paws and Naruto tilted his head.

"Oh . . . I'm sorry. Ano . . . okaa-san put up with you so I will too!"

The Kyuubi growled in annoyance and before Naruto could respond the sewer disappeared and he found himself opening his eyes to a white walled hospital room with a brown haired nurse at his side checking his charts.

"Ugh." His groan caught her attention and she widened her eyes before quickly leaving as he struggled to sit up. "What happened?" he asked himself as he rubbed his head and then looked down to his stomach and gripped it.

"Ah, Naruto." He whipped his head back up.

"Hokage-ojii?"

"Hello Naruto-kun."

Naruto's face split into a smile but then sunk into a frown, "I met Kyuubi . . . he says his name is Kurama," the old man's eyes widened, "I think I understand now. Okaa-san and Otou-san didn't really have a choice did they? I'm like okaa-san now, but also otou-san. I'm like both of them right?"

The Hokage gave him a small smile, "Yes, you are!"

Naruto reached behind his head to give his customary head scratch, "Should I tell my teammates?"

"That is your choice, Naruto. I can't make that for you. The older generation has been forbidden from telling the younger, but there are still many that know. I want you to know that many think no less of you, Naruto."

The blond smiled at his surrogate grandfather.

"I think Kurama is just lonely, ojii-san.

"Naruto, he is filled with hate." Naruto tilted his head and, after a moment, smiled.

"Then I'll cure him of his hate!" the shock on the Hokage's face was so funny Naruto burst out laughing. "Ojii –san, I'll do it! I think he kind of likes me already too!"

The Hokage gave a small smile. Naruto was so much like his predecessors, if not a little more exuberant. Maybe he'd have Naruto meet the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi.

ooOoo

When Naruto told his teammates about his tenant, he was expecting a lot of things, but he wasn't expecting what they actually did.

They had given him a grim smile.

"Annoying. Anyway, I like pissing off my mom," the awkwardness evaporated with that comment.

ooOoo

From then on they trained even harder. They only had six months until the chuunin exams and they had been informed by the Hokage that they would be fighting there.

After their disastrous encounter with Kisame, Naruto had grabbed a sword and would join Ichirou in his sword fights while sending clones with all the fuuton scrolls from the shinobi library and they learned the jutsus simultaneously. He had sparring sessions with Hana and her dogs too, and had whole days were devoted to just teleporting across the village with all the various seals that he drew everywhere. The C-ranks after that disastrous encounter had also been much easier. They faced bandits and didn't take as many escort missions because, in the words of Ichirou, they were "too annoying to deal with."

His days with Hinata-chan and Sasuke-teme, as he'd come to call him, were shortened, but he still made time for an hour with them a day, and on the off day that Hinata had her sister Hanabi with her, they'd all sit around and have a meal with the other kids at that stayed at the park that late while Naruto teased Sasuke and was teased back.

So although he did not have a lot of free time, his days were spent filled and he didn't have time to worry about the ignorant villagers. The fact that he had Kyuubi in him made him feel closer to his parents, especially his beautiful mother, and hardened his resolve to become Hokage and cure the Kyuubi of its hate.

He briefly wondered if his mother ever had tried to do that as well.

ooOoo

The chuunin exams were coming up in a month and the Kazekage had just received word from Konoha that Iwa and Kumo were up to something and may choose to attack at these exams. It was for that reason that they had to be as prepared as possible.

Oh the paperwork there would be if they were attacked. The Kazekage shuddered at the thought and turned to his secretary, "Get Yashamaru to bring Gaara here, I need to speak to him."

"Hai, Kazekage-sama!" This day was about to get even worse. He had to see the brother-in-law of his that hated him. He sighed as they entered and his youngest son sat in the chair in front of him. He looked as if he'd been crying again.

Some weapon he was.

Gaara for his part made no reaction to his father's facial expressions, although most of that was because he didn't understand what they meant. He just wanted to get away. The other kids at the park had called him a monster again.

"I received word from the Hokage that Iwa and Kumo may attack during the chuunin exams." There was an intake of breath from Yashamaru. "He received this information from his student's spy network which is apparently very extensive. Should an attack occur, I don't want you to completely go over to your ability. You cannot destroy the village. Be very careful, Gaara, is that understood?"

The little six year old tilted his head to the side. What was he supposed to say to something like that? So he just nodded and jumped off the seat before quietly taking Yashamaru's hand and pulling him out so that they could go to the park.

The Kazekage sighed once again. War seemed to be looming on the Horizon. Maybe this was what Suna needed – a way to prove their necessity to their Daimyou.

ooOoo

The Tsuchikage had made the last few discussions with the Daimyou. Things were set for the invasion. The Earth and Lightening Daimyou were on good enough terms and had been able to come to an agreement on everything.

Iwa and Kumo were ready. They were each sending two teams of shinobi. Kurotsuchi's team and another one of the promising genin teams of Iwa were going. The Raikage's favorite genin team that completely specialized in kenjutsu was following with a team that focused on ninjutsu as well, and with the two kage there, Suna would be crushed. The Raikage was pretty sure his brother didn't even need to go although he would go to supervise his apprentices anyway; he'd just have Yugito, the jinchuuriki of the Nibi, to go along as backup.

The plan was perfect in every way. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

ooOoo

The time for the chuunin nominations had come and jounin were packed in the Hokage's office hoping to send their genin to Suna. Only a few would be allowed to go, but they could all hope.

"As per tradition, the rookie's may choose to nominate their genin."

When none stepped forward Genma did, "I, Shiranui Genma, nominate Team Nine consisting of Inuzuka Hana, Haruno Ichirou, and Uzumaki Naruto for the exams."

"The five year old?" came the voice of a jounin.

"He's six now. He turned six last October. And yes, he is more than capable."

The Hokage nodded, "Alright, now on with the other nominations."

ooOoo

"Where is he?" Hana asked and was backed up by her dogs.

"How am I supposed to know? So annoying."

"I don't know, you spend all that time in your books, you'd think you'd know everything dattebayo!"

Hana chuckled and then scowled. "Where have you been, Genma-sensei?"

"Yeah, you were almost as bad as Kakashi-nii dattebayo! Do you know how hard it is to do that? Especially when he _really_ tries?"

Genma simply rolled his eyes, "I had to officially nominate you all for the chuunin exams and wait for the other jounin to nominate their genin before getting the forms for you guys," he took them out and began fanning himself with them, "But if you don't want it, then I'm sure an older genin team would love-"

And they were out of his hands and in Naruto's as he marveled at the thought.

"We're going to Suna?" his face was bright with anticipation.

Genma simply rolled his eyes, "Yeah, no need to thank me."

His legs were stuck as Naruto had wrapped his arms around his sensei's legs and had begun proclaiming how great Genma-sensei was.

"Thank you so much, Genma-sensei! You're awesome! The best jounin in the world!"

"You already knew this was coming. This was just a formality. Stop with the theatrics! You are so annoying."

ooOoo

Outside the academy was the newest batch of graduates and their parents, and though some were really happy, they were staring at the weird duo. They were wearing green spandex, had huge eyebrows, and had a bowl shaped haircut.

"Gai-nii, I did it! I passed!"

"That's it, Lee, use the power of youth! I beat Kakashi! You passed in a year, just like I said you would. Let us keep the power of youth!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei, that sounds like a brilliant plan! Let us train until we can no longer stand."

"Yes, Lee that's the spirit!"

"Thank you, Gai-sensei!"

The two green beasts of Konoha left the academy, and all the mentally scarred new graduates and parents, and went to run laps around the village.

ooOoo

"Hey, Hinata-chan, Sasuke-teme! I'm going to the chuunin exams dattebayo!" he had entered the park at a run. "Beat that Sasuke-teme!"

"Hn. I'm an Uchiha, I don't have to." The said Uchiha was having a hard time hiding his annoyance at his blond friend and Naruto was capitalizing on that.

"Yeah, well you're also a teme!" He folded his arms across his chest.

Poor Hinata had to try to keep the peace. "Congratulations N-Naruto-kun!"

"Oi, Hinata, do you want to go see the exams dattebayo, if there's a part that you can?"

"Hey, you invite her, but not me?" The annoyance on Sasuke's face was shining through.

"Eh, she's nicer than you teme."

"What did you say?"

"A-ano. Hai!" Hinata's efforts were failing.

"I said she's nicer than you, teme! That's why I like her better." Hinata's face became cherry red at that comment, but they were still ignoring her.

"N-Naruto-kun . . ." they both turned to face her, "Why don't we _all_ see you fight in the exams?"

"I'll have to ask my parents, but it sounds like a good idea," the Uchiha conceded.

"Sure, Hinata-chan!"

"W-when is it?"

"We're leaving tomorrow dattebayo!"

ooOoo

It was almost time to go. Kurotsuchi was ready and was simply waiting for her teammates; it was a four day trip to Suna from Iwa. They had to get going.

"Come on, what's taking you all so long?"

"I have to get my clay for my art un! That's what's taking so long. You don't appreciate it!"

"The food, I have to finish packing it."

"Well we have to leave now if we want to make it in time, you morons."

Yes, she was ready. She wasn't so sure about her teammates.

ooOoo

The team from Kumo had been heading to Suna for three days already. The trip was very long, but that was expected.

"Ugh, my back hurts, this is not cool." A blond thirteen-year old girl moaned.

"Why do you think? You've got that huge chest, Samui!" she rolled her eyes at her teammate. _He_ was so not cool.

It had been a long three days, and they still had three more. What had the Raikage been thinking to send them all this way? He'd kept them from the last chuunin exams in Kumo because he had 'bigger plans' for them.

"Let's just hurry up," Karui seemed annoyed by Omoi, "Stop with your antics. Kirabi-sensei, do something about this annoying baka!"'

"Hehe, you would say that wouldn't you, Karui. After all, you are very flat-chested, right?"

"Ugh." She threw a rock at him as they continued running toward Suna and Kirabi sighed. Why couldn't someone like Yugito be here at the moment?

ooOoo

Gaara sighed. They were coming now. He'd been told that the Hokage wanted him to meet someone. He just hoped this person didn't run as well. Gaara sighed as he continued to the park again.

There he sat in his customary swing and swung with solemn acceptance. He was alone, but at least he knew that his mother had 'loved' him. He wasn't quite sure what love was yet, Uncle Yashamaru had tried explaining it to him but he wasn't sure he knew exactly what it was yet.

He sighed. They were doing it again. They were looking at him with those eyes.

"Let's go, okaa-san said that he's the monster. If we don't look at him, maybe he'll disappear!" he heard their whispers. They thought he couldn't. They wanted him to disappear.

He ground his teeth and felt something in his chest. Was this pain? Was this what Yashamaru was trying to tell him? It was unbearable, just like Uncle Yashamaru had said.

He stood. He'd leave them alone for now. If that person the Hokage wanted him to meet also ran, then he'd need to ask Yashamaru. There had to be someone that didn't hate him. There had to be someone that didn't hate him besides his uncle.

He crossed his arms. If there was someone that didn't hate him out there then that had to mean that the rest of the village was wrong. That had to mean he wasn't a monster.

ooOoo

Temari stared at the Daimyou's son. He was so annoying. Why did she have to escort him? She wasn't even a shinobi yet! She sighed as he followed her around the Kazekage's mansion. This guy was getting on her last nerve. Why couldn't he just go away?

She sighed, "Yes, that's where all of us learn to be ninja!"

"Well that's a waste of money," she growled at his words, "My dad is always saying that we need to spend less money on this stuff because it's peace time!"

"Yeah, well my dad says that things can change really quickly at any time and it's better to be prepared."

The boy shrugged.

She was really not happy at all and was more than relieved when Kankuro turned the corner. Oh thank goodness, he'd come to save her from this moron.

ooOoo

Naruto stood at the gate with two other genin teams, none of them their age, and sighed.

Hinata-chan, Sasuke-teme, and all the friends that they'd made at the park were there to see them off.

"Good luck, N-Naruto-kun!"

"Bye, Hinata-chan, Sasuke-teme!"

"You want to know something? I hate you!"

"Then why'd you come and see me off?"

"Someone had to make sure you didn't act like a moron."

"Mah, details, details dattebayo! Bye Hinata-chan!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

It was the day before the chuunin exams were scheduled to start and although Gaara was supposed to be in the Kazekage's office to greet that person that the Hokage wanted him to meet, he was too afraid.

He was afraid of being rejected and called a monster again.

That was why he was at the park and no matter what Uncle Yashamaru said he refused to leave. He didn't want to face possible rejection. So, he stayed on the swing while Yashamaru left to tell the Kazekage.

ooOoo

Naruto stared at the village in the middle of a desert. It was beautiful, not as beautiful as Konoha, but beautiful nonetheless.

"Look, Hana-nee! It's so big!"

"Yeah, yeah, stop being so annoying."

"Nobody asked you, Ichirou -ttebayo!"

"Whatever," there was that perpetual roll of the eyes again and Naruto growled in annoyance. Everyone seemed to be annoyed under the hot Suna sun.

"Alright guys, no fighting."

"But, Genma-sensei, we're just showing how much we love each other," Ichirou said it with a smile but somehow that made him more scary in Naruto's eyes.

"Less loving, more walking."

"Yeah, yeah, what he said dattebayo!" and then Naruto was gone, trying to get away from the psychotically smiling, red haired demon that was Ichirou.

"Come on, let's check in and then I have orders to take Naruto to the Kazekage's office."

"Why?"

"No idea, but orders are orders, shrimp."

"I'm not a shrimp!"

Hana laughed and the Haimaru brothers joined in the laughter, "Yes you are! You're six! That's normal!"

"Yeah, what's not normal, and is equally annoying, is that he graduated."

"Stop being so jealous!"

"I'll stop saying he's annoying when he stops acting like a little kid."

"News flash, Ichirou: he is a kid," Hana smacked Ichirou over the head and he covered it to protect his brain cells from further attack.

"Hana!"

"Come on, we haven't got all day."

ooOoo

"Ah, is this the one?" Naruto quickly decided that he didn't like the Kazekage. It wasn't anything he'd said or done, it was the look in his eyes. It was a look with which Naruto was familiar as he'd seen it on the face of many of the villagers whenever they looked at him. It was a look Naruto hated.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama, this is Naruto." Genma-sensei was chewing on his senbon again.

The Kazekage lazily shifted his eyes over to the boy. He didn't look like much. Why had the Hokage wanted the kid to meet Suna's jinchuuriki?

"Well, Gaara is at the park and doesn't feel inclined to join us. Why don't you head over there? I'll send Yashamaru with you." The Kazekage indicated with his finger for someone to come forward and Naruto immediately warmed up to this guy. His eyes were warm, not cold like the Kazekage's.

"Hello. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the park so he can meet Gaara-sama."

"Who's that?"

"He is the youngest son of the Kazekage and my sister."

"Oh, so you're his uncle? What's he like? Is he as much of a creep as that Kazekage, 'cause he looked mean!"

Yashamaru was shocked for a moment and Genma quickly bopped Naruto on the head.

"Naruto, you're talking about his brother-in-law and the Kazekage. "

"Oh, no, it's fine."

"See! He agrees with me dattebayo!"

"It's still disrespectful, Naruto. He's the Kazekage." Genma-sensei was still in lecture mode. Great. Naruto grumbled the whole way to the park.

ooOoo

Gaara was still sitting on the same swing and the other children were still avoiding him. Would he always be feared? But he wanted to be 'loved.' Yashamaru said his mother 'loved' him and he was pretty sure that Yashamaru 'loved' him. He desperately wanted to stop being alone.

He slowly swung his feet back and forth to get a little bit of momentum before looking up to sneak a look at the kids in front of him. And when he looked up he saw Yashamaru with a blond haired boy, that looked to be a shinobi about his age, and a shinobi from the same village as that boy.

He tilted his head to the side. Why were they walking with Uncle Yashamaru?

ooOoo

When Naruto got into the park his eyes were immediately attracted to all the kids playing and jumping around.

"So where is this guy? And what's his name again?"

"His name is Gaara and he's on the swing over there." Yashamaru raised his forefinger and pointed to the small boy on the swing.

There didn't seem to be anything significantly strange about him besides the fact that he didn't really have eyebrows and had very prominent dark circles under his eyes that made him look as if he deserved months of sleep. But yes, other than that he looked completely normal. He had brick-red hair and, although it was not visible from their distance, green eyes. And in his pale arms was a stuffed animal – a tanuki.

But one thing stuck out to Naruto as he looked at the boy. All of the other kids looked at the red-head the way the adults of Konoha looked at Naruto.

Naruto felt this inexplicable urge to go talk to the boy. He looked like he needed a friend. And so Naruto did what he did best: he was Naruto. He walked right up to the boy before exclaiming, "Hi, I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be Hokage one day dattebayo!"

ooOoo

Gaara had no idea how to respond to the blond boy that had _approached_ him and introduced himself. He was still stuck on the fact that someone had actually come up to him rather than the other way around.

"This is where you tell me your name."

Gaara stared at him for three more seconds before replying, "Gaara."

"Can I sit on the swing?" the blond asked and then without waiting for a response to his question sat down on the adjacent swing and began to slowly swing while looking at Gaara.

"So, what is your favorite game to play Gaara?"

"I don't . . . I don't know any games. They don't let me play."

"Hm," the blond adopted a contemplative look on his face and then, as if struck by inspiration smiled brightly, "Then I'll teach you a game!"

Gaara glanced at Yashamaru and saw the smile there. Was this the person that the Hokage wanted him to meet? Why hadn't this boy – Naruto – run? Wasn't he afraid of the monster?

"Hey, why are you hanging out with the monster?" there were those voices again, saying that he was a monster. Gaara flinched. The boy would run away now. He turned away from the boy. He didn't want to see the rejection.

ooOoo

When Naruto heard the words of those kids he felt a wave of inexplicable hate. Who did these people think they were? And so his eyes narrowed.

"What monster? The only monster I see around is you. I mean have you looked in the mirror lately. I bet you don't even bathe dattebayo!"

And in all honesty, the kid probably didn't. They were in the middle of a desert; water was scarce. But the kid took it as a personal insult.

"What did you say?"

"Oh so you're deaf too?"

The kid was about to leap forward but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Genma-sensei.

The look on his face was priceless; Naruto was very proud of himself and his sensei, but mostly himself.

"You shouldn't go picking fights. He is a shinobi of Konoha. You should probably go away."

The kid began sputtering trying to find an answer before turning back to Naruto and finally realizing the six-year-old wore a hitai-ate.

"Sorry." He mumbled and turned away.

ooOoo

Gaara didn't know what to say. This guy – Naruto, Gaara reminded himself – had stood up for him. Naruto had said he wasn't a monster.

"Why?" he had to know. Was this just some cruel joke?

Naruto turned back to Gaara with a curious look on his face. "Why what?"

"Why don't you think I'm a monster?" Yashamaru came up behind Gaara and slowly placed his hand on Gaara's shoulder.

"Gaara has the sand spirit Shukaku sealed in him," Naruto blinked owlishly and there was a long silence before Yashamaru elaborated, "The Ichibi."

Now Naruto's face showed recognition and Gaara and Yashamaru feared the worst. So, he would leave now that he knew? Gaara would never trust anyone ever again. But then Naruto did something they didn't expect. He smiled.

"Cool! I've got Kyuubi in me! His name is Kurama. My okaa-san had him before me but she and otou-san died the night I was born because Kurama got out."

Now Gaara was staring at Naruto owlishly. Naruto was like him? Why was he so bouncy then? Why did he want to be Hokage?

"If you are like me then why,'' Gaara paused trying to find the right words to describe his confusion at this blond enigma, "Why are you so happy? What makes us different?"

Because Gaara desperately wanted to know what made this kid so bright. Naruto radiated a light that Gaara wanted - a light that Gaara needed.

And Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. Hokage-ojii was always there and I have great friends like Hinata-chan and Kakashi-nii and Hana-nee and Ichirou and Sasuke-teme. Although Sasuke is a teme and it's fun to annoy him dattebayo." There was that shrug of shoulders again.

Gaara tilted his head and then looked down, "Ano . . . will you be my friend?"

"Sure, come on! I've got to teach you how to play catch! It's so much fun! All you do is catch the ball when I throw it to you!"

Gaara's face lit up. He wasn't a monster. Or if he was, then Naruto would be a monster with him, and Gaara liked Naruto; he was _fun_. And if they were both monsters, then he wouldn't be alone in it. And he was okay with that.

ooOoo

Samui groaned. The place was filled with sand and Omoi wouldn't stop poking fun at her chest! She rubbed her shoulder hoping to get the sand off of her sleeve.

"Stop doing a pervert, Omoi! Kirabi-sensei, why do you have to leave me in charge of this baka?" Ah Karui, always the hot head.

"Yo, I have to speak with the other jounin. But, don't you worry, I'll be back before you know it! We'll gather round yo and discuss some tactics." he was gone before anything else could be said.

"Tactics? What tactics? It's just the chuunin exams."

Karui wasn't one to agree with Omoi, but he had a point. There was something odd about Kirabi-sensei lately. Kirabi-sensei and the Raikage had been much to secretive lately. What was going on?

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi was tired after their run from Iwa to Suna and so as soon as she got into her hotel room she collapsed on her bed and immediately shut her eyes and tried to get to sleep. Alas, her attempt was foiled.

"Kurotsuchi, get up. We're having a meeting un," Deidara-nii kicked her foot as he said that and got a punch to the face courtesy of Kurotsuchi's fist.

"I want to sleep," she dug her face deeper into the pillow and Akatsuchi came forward to grab her ankles.

"Come on, Kurotsuchi. The sooner we have the meeting the sooner you can sleep."

She groaned but got up, "Alright, where's the meeting," and the two backed up and shared cautious glances. She looked scary.

"You sure we can't let her sleep a bit more? She's scary when she's sleepy un."

Akatsuchi seemed more than ready to agree.

"Oh, no, you took me away from my sleep. That means you're stuck with cranky me." They both backed away and then Deidara came forward with a grimace.

"Fine, just don't touch my art un. It's in a safe place."

"You mean your kunai pouch? How is that safe?"

"You just don't appreciate my art un."

"That's not art."

"Yes, it is un! Art is an explosion!"

"Whatever, Deidara-nii. Let's just get to the meeting; I want to go to sleep."

"Not until you understand what art is un."

Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi shared a collective sigh.

ooOoo

As soon as Kirabi entered the Hotel room of the Iwa shinobi he immediately wanted to leave. There were three brats in a corner arguing over nothing in particular. I mean really! Art? If he wanted something like that he'd have stayed with his team. At least he liked them. He didn't know these people. Why should he have to put up with them?

He raised an eyebrow but turned to the two jounin from Iwa and the one Kumo jounin that had entered the room with him before lifting an eyebrow.

"It's alright. They know about the plan."

Kirabi nodded and put on a fake smile."Yo, it's alright. I'll be telling my home boys when I get back to our hotel room."

"Home boys?"

There was an awkward silence before Kirabi responded, "Team."

"Okay, well the plan is simple, but should prove effective. We strike at where they are most vulnerable when they least expect it. What your team will have to do is . . ."

ooOoo

Naruto sat on the hotel bed and looked around. As soon as they'd found the room that evening Naruto had eyed it critically and decided that if that bed had one grain of sand he'd . . . he'd . . . he'd get Gaara.

Throughout the course of the afternoon Naruto had found that Gaara had the useful ability of controlling sand when Naruto had tried to cheat in catch by making ten clones. And once he'd discovered this unique ability, they began to play catch ninjutsu style.

"How come you aren't a ninja yet?" had been Naruto's question the moment he'd seen the sand catch the ten balls his clones had thrown.

"I," Gaara paused and lowered his head before trying again, "I can't really control it. It just happens."

"Oh. Well then, you should work on it. You'd probably be a great ninja! Kakashi-nii is always saying that if you work at it, you can get it!" Gaara had not been expecting that response to his ability, but he guessed it had something to do with the fact that Naruto had his own biju.

"Ano, who is Kakshi-nii?"

Naruto's eyes widened, he hadn't told Gaara about the awesomeness of Kakashi-nii? Blasphemous!

"Eh? I haven't told you about Kakashi-nii yet?"

Gaara shook his head in the negative, "You said his name once, but I don't know who he is."

And Naruto seemed confused; why would he forget to talk about Kakashi-nii? Kakashi-nii was amazing! And he'd never forgive Naruto for forgetting to talk about him! Naruto looked up to the sky before replying with a smile on his face. "Well, Kakashi-nii isn't _really_ my nii-san, he's the last student of my otou-san and he's the one that taught me how to be a ninja!"

"Oh," Gaara seemed to pause as if wondering whether or not he should ask the next question. "W-what's the Kyuubi like"

"Well," Naruto's face had become strangely pensive, "He's filled with hate." The blond smiled then and glanced at Gaara before brightly proclaiming, "I'm going to cure him of it dattebayo!"

Gaara tilted his head to the side.

"Why do you say dattebayo all the time?" Naruto froze. He actually did that?

"Eh. I don't know. I just do dattebayo." Naruto had started to get slightly flustered but then they'd gone back to their game of ninjutsu-catch and before the long the sun had set and they were forced to say goodbye.

"Don't die in the exams," was the only thing Gaara had said, but there was an undertone of panic in his voice which Naruto had been able to catch.

"Me? Pshaw. I'm awesome; I'm going to be Hokage dattebayo!"

"Hokage," Gaara tested the word on his tongue for a bit before nodding and turning to his new friend, "Yes. You will be Hokage and I will be Kazekage." Gaara smiled, and strangely the smile looked childlike on his face and not at all strange.

So when Naruto had sat on the hotel bed, he knew that his friend, the future Kazekage could very well effectively rid his bed of sand.

He inspected his bed and found a bit. Good! It was another reason to go see Gaara!

"Genma-sensei, I'm going to go see Gaara, there's sand in my bed and he can get rid of it," he made it halfway to the door when Genma-sensei grabbed the back of his shirt.

"It's too late to go out; you're in a foreign village. It's not safe, even if this village is full of our allies."

"B-b-b-b-but!"

"Annoying, just live with the sand."

Naruto stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes before he went to go sit in a corner. Sometimes it just wasn't fair. He wanted to go see his friends!

"We should have a plan for these exams," one of the Haimaru brothers lifted his head as Hana spoke.

"Well, we'd better stay close. I don't care what they say about keeping your enemies closer than your friends, it's too annoying to try that level of deception."

Naruto perked up. It was a new word!

"Decept-a-what?"

"Deception. Lying."

"Oh, thanks Genma-sensei dattebayo!"

"What about Hana's dogs? There are three of them and three of us."

Hana shook her head, "I need my dogs with me to do my clan techniques. How about Naruto's kage bunshin?"

"It's too suspicious." Ichirou dismissed as he turned to look out the window of the room to the village.

"Not if he transforms with that solid henge of his." Hana's calculating expression made Naruto get a little worried, "Can you transform into bugs?"

Yep. There was the source of his worry. Naruto's face contorted into a grimace but he nodded, "Yeah, I can . . . but they're creepy, even if Shino's not a bad guy."

Genma-sensei nodded in approval to his team. "Sounds like you have everything under control. Do it before you leave the room tomorrow, but right now you all need to get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow."

ooOoo

Underneath Konoha, in the tunnels that housed the organization known as Root, was a particular vaulted room. And in this particular vaulted room was an old man all bandaged up and scowling at the recruits under his command.

Things were not going as he'd planned. Sarutobi was gaining more and more support while he, Shimura Danzo was once again left in the shadows. He was the one that deserved to be Hokage, not Sarutobi, but again and again he had been overlooked for someone else.

It was infuriating.

Danzo glanced at his subordinates and then motioned for two of his young agents to come forward. One was the age of the Kyuubi-brat that he'd been denied.

He gave them the order.

ooOoo

She was running again. It was red all around, suffocating. Her head hurt, her chest felt tight and panic ran through her veins.

Hinata awoke from that strange dream again under the trees in the Hyuuga garden. It seemed so real . . . it had almost touched her – that darkness – it had almost enveloped her and she had stopped breathing, or at least that's what the little heiress thought as her chest was hurting.

Why did she have that dream again? She hadn't thought of it in months!

She shook her head as she got up from her bed and slid her door open before silently walking toward the garden where she sat by the tree and fingered her hair that was at that point past her shoulders.

She missed Naruto; he'd been gone for five days and the exams were supposed to start in a few hours. She sighed and stared at the camellia tree above her. She liked the trees in the park better, but settled for these; she wasn't allowed out of the compound without her mother.

She wished that she was strong enough to go to the park on her own and to make Naruto proud; she wished she had as much confidence.

All of a sudden she stood and in her eyes, if any had been watching, there could be seen a fire – a light! – that burned with determination. She began to do her juuken kata.

ooOoo

Naruto stared in the mirror and smiled widely. He was once again the spitting image of his father – for the most part because although he had his father's coloring he had his mother's eyes and face shape. He straightened his hitai-ate before nodding to himself and gathering all the scrolls he could find, storing them in another and placing that one his pocket. Yes, he was ready for the exams.

Downstairs, Hana and Ichirou waited with Genma-sensei and the Haimaru brothers with the occasional "annoying" from Ichirou and constant snorts from the dogs.

"Okay, let's go!"

"Finally. You're worse than my little sister and Hana put together."

Naruto's amusement at his teammate's outburst was displayed in a raspberry and a smile. "Come on, we're going to be late dattebayo!"

"And whose fault would that be?" They were already heading out the door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

All six of them, dogs included, turned to their sensei. They had blank looks on their faces, "You discussed this yesterday before you all went to sleep . . ." Realization spread across their faces. At least they had the decency to look sheepish.

Naruto nodded, "Right! _Kage Bunshin no jutsu!_ " His hands formed the appropriate seal and twenty kage bunshin popped into existence and then their hand seal changed. "Henge no jutsu!"

The expanse of blonds disappeared and all around them was a swarm of flies. And for a good minute the flies just flew around waiting for orders that the others had no idea they were supposed to give.

"Hide in their clothes or something," Naruto finally said in realization and they moved.

"Wow," the word was dragged out, "Your clones aren't that bright are they?" Naruto shot Ichirou a glare for this comment.

"They're smarter than yours." Naruto stuck out his tongue and then walked out of the room before Ichirou could catch him in a headlock as Hana sighed.

"Boys." Her dogs gave a complaining whimper at her complaint. "Human boys," she amended, "I love you guys; it's just them. Come along; let's go make sure they don't kill each other."

It didn't take long for Team Nine to begin their trek through Suna and to the Kazekage mansion.

"How do you know where we're going again?"

"I told you already. I met Gaara; his dad's the moron that is the Kazekage dattebayo! Ow! What was that for, Hana-nee?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head where he'd gotten smacked.

"You don't insult someone's father, especially if said father is a kage."

Naruto mumbled under his breath and made a mocking face from behind her back and could see some of the insect-clones were twitching with insect-laughter.

"Just because I can't see you doesn't mean that my boys can't." Naruto froze at those words and deflated from his high of mocking.

"Yes, Hana-nee. It'll never happen again dattebayo," Naruto's reply was slightly nervous.

"Annoying."

ooOoo

The rest of the walk was silent and the Suna villagers were staring at the Konoha-nin.

Why did that little blond look so familiar? That was the question running through the minds of many of the non-Konoha-nin. The thought was at the back of their minds but it was there all the same. The six year old seemed familiar.

"Okay, guys. This is where I leave you. Good luck, and remember, it's not the end of the world if you don't pass."

"No, my parents will just tell me to stop being a ninja. Not the end of my ninja career at all." Ichirou rolled his eyes. "We won't overdo it. It'd be to annoying."

Genma-sensei raised his eyebrows but nodded. "You're all still young, don't do anything stupid. Just do your best."

They all nodded and proceeded into the examination room.

ooOoo

Baki glared at all the genin before him. He'd been told to keep an eye on the four teams of Iwa and Kumo, but he'd been hearing rumors among some of the shinobi that the blond Konoha six year old had made a friend of Gaara.

Personally, he had nothing against the Kazekagae's youngest; he was just bothered by the fact that said kid didn't have a lot of control over Shukaku.

So he glared at everyone. He didn't want to make it obvious that he was singling some out. And once all of them were settled he gave them one last withering look before looking at the stack of scrolls before him.

"Alright, when I call your team, come forward to get your scroll. All the details for the first exam will be inside." The chatter ended.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi was bouncing in her seat. She could barely contain her excitement. The war was going to begin soon. She just had to play her part. All around her were genin that she'd soon fight. The war was almost here. Her mother would soon be avenged.

From the corner of her eye she saw yellow and froze for a few seconds before slowly turning to face the blond before her. Yes, this was the boy her team had seen in Tanzaku Gai. She nudged Akatsuchi and Deidara-nii in the stomachs sharply and jutted her chin towards the boy.

Akatsuchi's eyes widened . . . after a full minute of staring and Deidara just raised his eyebrows.

"Who'd send a kid to these exams un?"

"Apparently Konoha does." Kurotsuchi replied before turning back to the examiner as he called her team up.

ooOoo

Naruto was nearly bouncing in his seat when all of a sudden he stopped and sunk back clutching one of Hana's dogs . . . he really needed to ask her what their names were . . . But that wasn't why he'd suddenly decided to grab a fist full of the Inuzuka dog's hair. It was the girl from that team that had stood just now to get he team's scroll.

He could see that she was giving him glances but he knew why. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to dress up like his father. It certainly didn't help him blend in, that was for sure.

"Hana-nee," he whispered and she looked down and nodded.

"I know. Don't let it show, Naruto."

He lowered his head and nodded, indicating he'd heard her words before sitting up as tall as he could and breathing as normally as he could manage – which was not extremely normal, but he was coping.

The Iwa girl sat down and then Naruto's team was called up.

"Konoha – Team Nine." Hana stood to get the scroll herself and when she came back waited.

"We should wait until everyone has theirs he hasn't told us what to do yet."

Naruto grumbled. He wanted to know what was in that scroll. And those staring Iwa-nin weren't helping at all.

He was at last able to shrug the stares off when the proctor turned to them all. "In those scrolls there are detailed mission parameters. You have to complete the mission at all costs. Your team must be intact for you to advance, but otherwise there are no rules. When your mission is completed you will be told where to go for the next part of the exam. Dismissed until tomorrow morning - here."

All the teams began leaving and Naruto looked around at his teammates.

"If we go to a closet where we aren't seen I can just Hiraishin us all back to the hotel room."

Hana smiled at him but shook her head, "Don't waste your chakra. We can just walk. We have a whole day."

Naruto shrugged, but nodded his consent and turned to the scroll in her hand before gazing intently at it.

"Naruto, send some of your insects to find out what's on the other teams scrolls. It might be good to know."

Naruto nodded and then stared at the few insects loitering around until they drifted away toward some other teams and then Team Nine made their way out of the room and around a corner.

"Alright, I'll open the scroll and we'll hand it around, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Ichirou was really starting to get on Hana's nerves today, but she sighed and opened the scroll.

It said that they needed to find out the password to the next test. Only the jounin knew what it was and would have it on a strip of paper on their person as well as discuss it with other jounin. Their mission was to either get the paper or make one with the word themselves.

"We have to be careful." Hana told them all once they'd gotten a good look.

"Why?"

"What if they know that we're around. They could very easily trick us."

"So? I already have it." Naruto said and his teammates turned to look at him with shocked faces.

"How?" Ichirou's skepticism was amusing. Ichirou always seemed to have the answer, but he didn't this time.

"One of my clones decided it would be funny to buzz in that weird jounin's ear for a while. So he followed that guy around and he heard the guy talking to some other lady and was saying that he'd better get into the mood of saying the password and so yeah. The clone dispelled when he found out what it was."

There was silence.

Ichirou got irritated after a minute, "Well, what is it?"

"Can't say. Someone's spying on us."

The other two nodded and they left the hallway to get to their hotel room.

"Well, I feel slightly useless." Ichirou grumbled but complied with the team. It was sometimes really annoying to have a six year old on your team.

ooOoo

Katsue cursed under her breath as the Konoha team caught onto the fact that she was spying. She was using a puppet! That shouldn't have been possible!

She glared at her teammates and was grumbling over the fact that she'd lost the one team that knew what the password was. How did the kid even get it?

"Shut up, Gorou, Shirou. I'd like to see you do better."

And yes, her teammates were laughing at her. Laughing!

"A six year old caught you," Gorou managed in between laughs.

She rolled her eyes and turned away. "We need to find a Suna shinobi. Maybe if we hide in those tunnels . . ." Gorou and Shirou were both shaking their heads, "What?" she hissed at them.

"Sensei told us a riddle. We have to catch them off guard and, or, off duty," Gorou began.

"So a pub would be best, we could get them drunk!" Shirou ended with a smile as he tilted his head to the side.

Katsue sighed at her teammates, the twin monsters. That's what she called them, and they were rightly named. She would have had a crush on Shirou if he wasn't such a prankster because, although the two were twins, they weren't completely identical and what made Shirou different from his brother was what made her like him slightly better than his brother. Shirou had a longer face and had a much brighter smile than his brother. That was the one and only difference, and she could only tell because they'd been teammates for four years.

It was their first chuunin exam, but only because Katsue hadn't thought she was ready. And she had lost a six year old Konoha-nin. She was seriously beginning to have her doubts about her own abilities even though she'd refined them for years with her teammates and they hadn't failed one mission – the goal of Suna.

"Fine."

They set off for one of the most frequented bars in the village with Katsue's confidence falling and falling. What had she done wrong? If she couldn't even figure it out, then she wasn't ready for this at all!

ooOoo

Samui sighed as her teammates groaned. With a sensei like Kirabi, it was hard to have stealth and this was a stealth mission.

Damn.

ooOoo

"Why can't I showcase my art un!"

"Because you wouldn't recognize the meaning of stealth if it hit you over the head with a pillowcase of bricks!"

Kurotsuchi was really not feeling patient at that particular moment and Deidara-nii's constant nagging was really starting to grate on her nerves.

"Um, Kurotsuchi?" and there went Akatsuchi.

"What?" she snapped out and turned to face him.

"I think you meant sac instead of pillowcase because," he trailed off as he got a good look at her face, "I'm shutting up now."

"We're going to the bar. Henge into older people and try to act like adults." She said in the bossiest voice she could manage before turning around and doing just as she'd said.

Her teammates quickly followed suit and soon they had disappeared from the testing site.

ooOoo

The bar was filled that evening with underage genin and in an effort to keep up their acts some of the genin were drinking all the alcohol they were offered. This led to a very drunk Gorou and Shirou.

Katsue rubbed her forehead in frustration. What had possessed her teammates to drink two bottles of sake each? Did they _want_ alcohol poisoning? If she'd known they were so eager to die of poisoning, she'd be more than happy to accommodate them with a training session with some of her puppets! She sighed as she moved to go to the restroom and check on the camera she'd planted in the air vent.

Did it get the password so that she could drag her teammates back to their home? Yes? Good.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi smiled at the jounin in front of her and Deidara grimaced from the corner of the bar. Why did that smile look so convincing? Yes, she had henged into a busty blonde with expertly applied makeup but who knew she was such a good actress? He'd never have guessed it himself.

He narrowed his eyes as she grabbed the young jounin's hand gently and made subtle movements to follow her out and Deidara had to wonder to himself. Wasn't she nine in reality? He shuddered. He was very glad that he wasn't a Kunoichi.

She was back in a few minutes with a smile and joined them in the corner.

"Mission accomplished. Let's get out of here."

ooOoo

"Maybe your chest can convince the jounin to give us the paper?" Omoi promptly received a smack to his head from Karui and as he rubbed the bump that had begun forming on his head he mumbled about how she was just jealous and Karui just scoffed.

"Yeah, sure, that'd work," her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Actually," they both turned to Samui, "he may be on to something."

Karui growled as Omoi began demanding an apology, "Not in a thousand years."

ooOoo

As soon as Naruto had dropped his stuff off at the hotel room he'd hurried back to the Kazekage tower and burst into Gaara's room.

"I finished the first exam, Gaara dattebayo!"

Gaara turned to his first friend and smiled. "That's great," he said softly. He was beyond happy; his friend had come back. Naruto wasn't just playing with him the day before to do what his Hokage had told him to do.

They were real friends and Gaara was happy.

Gaara lifted his hand and showed his friend the bingo book he'd grabbed from his father's desk.

"Do you want to memorize the faces in her and then draw beards?" It seemed like something Naruto would do, and Gaara desperately wanted to be like Naruto – liked and with a team that cared about him. And he kept mentioning this Hinata-chan person. He wondered if he'd ever find someone like that.

ooOoo

Hinata smiled and finished another round of hand signs before trying the bunshin jutsu that Naruto had told her all about.

"Hinata, what are you doing?"

She jumped in surprise and turned to face her father, "Training. Sorry. I should have seen you coming."

Her father nodded but smiled slightly, "Keep up the good work, Hinata. You've already mastered one of the 'Academy Three.' You are well on your way to becoming a shinobi."

Hinata smiled wider than before – her father was proud of her. "Um, otou-san, can you help me learn the other two academy jutsu?"

Her father nodded but then paused, there seemed to be another question on the tip of her tongue. "Yes, Hinata?" His eldest daughter looked down.

"Ano, if there's a part of the chuunin exams that we can see, can we see Naruto?"

Her father nodded. It was the least he could do for the blond – he was after all the one that inspired Hinata to work that much harder, "Come along, Hinata. If you can show you have improved, then you can go see your friend."

ooOoo

Neji had been watching as his cousin practiced her kata with her father and frowned. He should be ahead of her; his father was always telling him that he had the best eyes in the clan. He should be superior and it was only because she had that friend of hers that she even knew what to do.

He clenched his fists and turned to go to the academy. He'd master all three of the Academy jutsu and prove to the clan that this fate that he'd been given didn't matter; he'd become stronger than the Main House. He'd . . .

He'd be the strongest and break away from his fate, even with the seal on his forehead.

He passed a training ground on his way to the academy and saw two green . . . things . . . punching a log and doing a series of complex punches and kicks. The boy seemed to be his age. Was that a hitai-ate on his waist? Why was everyone so much stronger than him? Why couldn't he make anyone proud?

He moved forward and the jounin paused and turned to look at him.

"What's this? A rival?" The green wonder that was the jounin had a smile on his face that scared Neji just a bit, but he did not allow himself to show it. He was a Hyuuga. Hyuuga were not supposed to show their emotions. So he stepped a little closer and shook his head.

"No, can," why was he doing this? "Can you teach me to be a shinobi?" he had finally realized, he just wanted someone to look at him and not that stupid seal on his forehead that said he was inferior to the Main House. He wanted to be seen as himself.

The man smiled a creepier smile. Was that even possible? And why did he get the phantom instinct to run away?

"Look, Lee! It seems that we have someone else that will help us keep our flames of youth!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei! Let us celebrate by doing one hundred laps around the village!"

"No, Lee! Let us do _two_ hundred laps around the village!"

Neji stopped and stared at the duo of green horror. It took about thirty seconds for their words to register in his mind.

What had he just gotten himself into?

ooOoo

Baki smirked at the group of students in front of him. Those Konoha-nin had seemed not done anything, but he'd heard from some other jounin in the area that they had.

"Alright, one team at a time, go to the next room with your answers and get a scroll for the next exam. Be sure to hide your scroll as that knowledge is crucial to the next exam which will be explained by the next examiner. Team Nine, you're first because you completed it the exam before anyone else."

Naruto grabbed his teammates' hands and rushed out of the room with the Haimaru brothers at his heels.

"Naruto," Ichirou began with a roll of his eyes, "Do you have to be so bouncy all the time?"

"It doesn't matter, come on!"

Naruto entered the large vaulted room with eagerness in each step, "Hi!" He pulled the scrap of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.

She glanced at it once before handing him and his teammates a sheet to sign.

"What's this?" Naruto asked with innocence in his face.

"Insurance release forms."

He stared at her for a moment and she sighed before elaborating, "There is a good chance that there will be deaths in the next part of the exam. That means that you need to acknowledge that Suna is not responsible for any injuries and, or, deaths."

Naruto stared for a moment before gulping and looking down at his paper for a good long moment. But then he quickly signed it – if Kakashi-nii had been able to do it, then he would too!

"Tch, annoying," Ichirou paused for a moment like Naruto had before he sighed and signed.

Hana quirked her eyebrow, "Do my dogs have to sign?" The lady raised her eyebrow before she nodded.

"Yeah, don't want to have a loophole."

They were given a white scroll.

ooOoo

The team stayed in their room that night packing anything possible – they needed to be ready – and Naruto was sealing practically the whole hotel room in a scroll along with any water he could find.

"Naruto, I don't think you need to pack that much."

Naruto turned to Hana, "B-b-b-b-but . . . I might need it!"

She rolled her eyes, "You don't need the whole world, Naruto. Relax. You'd be amazed at what that can do for you. Get some sleep. I think we might need it tonight."

He hesitated, but caved within thirty seconds. He was six; he was entitled to naps.

ooOoo

Gaara stared for a moment at Yashamaru for a moment, "So Naruto won't be back for the next five days because of the exams?"

"Yes, Gaara, I wanted you to know so that you wouldn't worry when he didn't come back," Yashamaru smiled at him and Gaara smiled the smile that he'd learned from Naruto.

"Thank you, Uncle Yashamaru!" he sounded like Naruto too now, "I know Naruto wouldn't do that he's not like that." He smiled a Gaara smile and Yashamaru smiled in relief.

Gaara was still Gaara, but he'd adopted some of his new friend's more friendly qualities. "You should get some rest, Gaara."

Gaara paused, "Uncle Yashamaru?"

"Yes, Gaara?"

"I'm going to be the Kazekage," Yashamaru's eyes widened, "Naruto's going to be Hokage one day, and so if I'm Kazekage that'll mean that we'll have to talk to each other more, and Naruto said that once we're kage the villages will have to respect us and will even love us. I want them to love me, and so I need to become Kazekage. But," here Gaara blushed slightly, "I need help."

There was a thick silence in the room and then Yashamaru came forward and enveloped Gaara into a hug, "I'll help you Gaara. I'll help you become Kazekage."

"Thank you. Um, can I see my brother and sister tomorrow? I want to say sorry for all the times they got hurt because of Shukaku and that I'm trying to make it so that that doesn't happen anymore."

"Sure Gaara," Yashamaru pulled back and smiled his sister's smile, "Your mother would be so proud of you."

ooOoo

Naruto woke up from his nap with a start, one of Hana's dogs had jumped onto him. "Get off me," He sat up and looked around. All his stuff was packed . . . he might as well get ready.

Once he'd packed all his scrolls into his pack he headed out of the hotel room.

"Hana-nee, Ichirou-san! What time is it?"

"Eight-thirty! We were about to go up and wake you!" Hana shouted back.

"What? Eight-thirty? We're going to be late! Let's go!"

And he practically flew out the door.

"Did he just use fuuton jutsu to make himself even faster?"

"I think he did . . . annoying."

The Haimaru brothers each barked their agreement as the rest of Team Nine left following at his heel.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"No."

Neji could be found glaring at the offending duo of green horror at training ground five that evening. It wasn't the training regimen that had led him to believe the two were _practically insane_. It was that they actually believed that he would ever consent to wearing that . . . that . . . _thing_.

"But Neji-san! It's _youthful_." Lee was holding the green jumpsuit of spandex up with pride and slight disbelief that his new friend had not made any movement to take the item of such youth.

"I have said it once and I will say it again. I would not even wear it if my life was on the line."

"But, Neji!"

"No. I will see you both tomorrow," and he walked away toward the Hyuuga compound.

"Lee?"

"Yes, Gai-sensei?"

"I think we have found a teammate for you!"

"Really, Gai-sensei? Who?"

"Neji, of course! As soon as he graduates, and we will have him graduate by the end of this year, Lee, then he will _definitely_ join our team! I will ask the Hokage!"

"That is a wonderful idea!"

"Yes, Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

Neji was lucky to have gotten away when he had. They didn't even need to cast a genjutsu for the sunset – it was already there.

ooOoo

Ichirou was not the strongest shinobi. He knew that. His sensei knew that. His whole team knew that. But it sometimes hurt his pride when a _six year old_ bested him.

He'd been grumbling to himself since they'd left the testing site the day they were given the first test. Why was he so useless to his team? He'd gotten knocked out on their second C-rank and the five year old that his teammate was at the time had had to save them all. Then said five-year-old, that had become six, had single-handedly passed the first part of the chuunin exam.

So when he went with his team to the site of the second exam, he was telling himself that he wouldn't let his teammates take his share of the team load.

Now if only he could convince Naruto to let him do something . . .

ooOoo

Maki had been slightly unnerved by the blond boy that had appeared right in front of her with a smile on his face, a Konoha hitai-ate on his head, and his forefinger pointed straight at her. And, did he actually poke her? Odd.

"Hey, you're that lady that gave us the scroll dattebayo!"

Why was he so hyper? He had this ridiculously cheerful smile. She knew that this kid gave her the slip of paper for the first exam, but this was just ridiculous. Was he really shinobi material?

She nodded in response to the little kid even as she leaned away from him - what a weird child - and turned to the other seven teams that had passed earlier that day and sighed. Out of the twenty that had tried, only one Suna team was present and it would be extremely embarrassing if they didn't make it to the final rounds. Maki smirked to herself; at least it would be fun, although the Kazekage would be really upset if they didn't make it. What a hassle politics were.

She took one more look at all the teams, "Alright, kids. Those scrolls that you were given earlier will need to be given back in order to advance. We need to make sure you're really the team that passed. Your mission is also in the scroll that we gave you. As soon as you give a Suna jounin back your scroll the exam begins."

Naruto leaned over to Hana, "Oi did you and Ichirou read the scroll while I was asleep, Hana-nee?"

She nodded her head and then batted at one of the Naruto clones on her arm. Naruto frowned, "He was asleep. I guess I should refresh them?"

Ichirou rolled his eyes, "Do it when we're far in the desert."

"Okay," the smile had returned to Naruto's face, "So let me see what's in that scroll!"

Hana pulled it out and Naruto rolled it open.

_Mission: Find the specified Suna Jounin with the Scroll Number Seven. You must show a sufficient amount of prowess and teamwork to get the scroll. All teams must remain in the desert for five days. Other than getting your own scroll, your entire team must stay intact and you cannot under any circumstances open the scroll._

Naruto looked up from the scroll with a determined look on his face with a bit of a smirk, "Good thing I sealed practically the entire hotel room dattebayo."

Hana and Ichirou rolled their eyes but began to follow him as he approached the proctor from the first exam – Baki, wasn't it?

"We're ready to go whenever you are, sir," Hana said with a smile as the guy smirked. He was kind of creepy.

"Alright, follow me," and then he put a hand to his earpiece, "Team Nine of Konoha is heading out."

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi was grinning so maniacally that it almost scared Deidara and most definitely scared Akatsuchi. They were going to get to fight with no reservations, and that included the little – five-year-old? Six-year-old? – Whatever age he was, it didn't matter. He was a kid, specifically the kid of the Kiiroi Senkou, who was dead, and there were no rules about what they could and could not do.

"Um, Kurotsuchi, why are you smiling like that?" Kurotsuchi turned to her two teammates, her smile still in place and – was it possible? – smiled even wider.

"Let's go have some fun," and Kurotsuchi turned and walked away toward a Suna jounin, never really answering the question.

ooOoo

It took a while for Baki to leave them, Hana guessed that it was about eleven in the evening, and they were seemingly stranded in the desert of Wind Country, and Hana and Ichirou were too tired to go on.

"Since, I slept this afternoon you guys can go ahead and sleep dattebayo! I'll wake you up if anything happens." Naruto rubbed the back of his head and smiled at his teammates.

"Thanks, Naruto!" Hana smiled and began settling down to sleep with her dogs at her side.

Ichirou, however, was a bit reluctant to rest, but he submitted with an "annoying."

Naruto stared out at the large expanse that was the desert while his teammates began to settle for the night. It was cool and not very windy; it was nice. To think that his friend, Gaara, could control all of this with just a thought, and sometimes with nothing at all . . . it was mind boggling.

Naruto smiled softly before he sat down next to his two teammates to keep watch. It was going to be a long night.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi was ahead of her teammates, something she was very happy to say was done almost effortlessly, and was thinking up strategies that could be implemented to find one of the Suna jounin hidden in these sand dunes before they went after the blond child.

"Kurotsuchi-nee, can we stop, I'm tired."

"Deal with it."

"Kurotsuchi, we have five days, give it a rest un."

"I'll give it a rest when we have the headband of that annoying little child. I'll give it a rest when Iwa is the ruler of the whole continent. I'll give it a rest when we're all getting the praise we deserve as powerful Iwa shinobi!"

There was an awkward silence after her proclamation and her fist was still in the air with that maniacal, and somewhat crazed, grin on her face.

"Yeah, Kurotsuchi, get some sleep. I'll keep watch un."

Kurotsuchi growled at Deidara and stared at him. He stared back, she stared, he stared, she stared . . . It was a never ending cycle which ended when Kurotsuchi finally blinked and sighed as a smirk grew on Deidara's face.

He'd won.

"Fine," she plopped down where she stood and pulled her sack off her back before she pulled out a blanket and settled on the slightly cool sand.

"Akatsuchi," Kurotsuchi's voice broke the silence of the desert night, "Sit."

"Yes ma'am."

ooOoo

Katsue looked over her shoulder at her teammates as soon as their jounin escort left them, "You guys want to pitch the tent so that we can get a little bit of sleep before we go looking for our designated scrolls?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, you never know when a sand storm will pop up," Shirou seemed to be looking at the night sky with caution.

"Is something wrong?"

Shirou shook his head and looked down to his twin brother that had passed out moments before turning to look back at Katsue with a frown on his face, "I have a bad feeling."

ooOoo

The desert around Suna seemed unusually silent, Gaara noticed. That was very strange, although he guessed he was the one doing it. He didn't particularly like the thought that his friend was out there and might get into any amount of trouble. It was unsettling that such a confident person could be in danger if he slipped up.

He'd been experimenting with his sand and trying to control it so that he wouldn't hurt anyone, even if it was by accident, and it was working . . . somewhat.

" **Why do you try?"** Gaara froze at the voice in his head.

"Shukaku?" he whispered, his voice wavering in the pale moonlight.

" **He'll betray you, just like everyone else."** Gaara shook his head. Shukaku was wrong, wasn't he? **"He's just like everyone else."** The whispers repeating in Gaara's head were drowning out all thought.

Why was Shukaku only now taking to him, telling him that Naruto wasn't his real friend? Had he been asleep the whole time? Gaara's fists tightened and the sand around him followed his unconscious command.

"No," he whispered and he could hear Shukaku's cries of protest, "No. Naruto will cure Kurama, so that means I have to cure you too, right." Shukaku growled louder in his head, it was deafening and Gaara brought his hands to his head. What was this? Was this pain?

"Yashamaru!"

ooOoo

Yashamaru had been humming happily all afternoon as he prepared some of his medical salves. Gaara seemed to be healing, which was very good; Gaara had even made a goal for himself: he wanted to become the Kazekage. Everything seemed to be looking up for his nephew.

"Yashamaru!"

Yashamaru froze; Gaara was calling him.

"Yashamaru!" There it was again. There was a haunting feel to the screech, as if an immense pain was being pushed onto the six year old child that, as Yashamaru found as he entered the room, was on the floor attempting to rip his ears out of his head.

So Yashamaru naturally did what seemed logical in such a situation. He rushed forward and grabbed Gaara, pulling him into a hug, and whispered that everything was going to be okay.

Gaara seemed to calm down a bit, and Yashamaru set the child down.

"Gaara?" The curiosity and concern in Yashamaru's voice could not be faked. He was genuinely worried about Gaara, and Gaara remembered what Shukaku had said.

Gaara clung quickly to his Uncle's arm.

"Shukaku," his voice was barely above a whisper and tears were in his voice, "He said that Naruto is going to . . . he said Naruto's going to leave."

Yashamaru knelt down and placed his hands slowly on Gaara's shoulder. "Naruto is your friend, yes?" Gaara nodded in response. "True friends, I've found, are hard to come by, but once you have them, they're there for life. Even if he goes back to Konoha, he will still be your friend."

" **Liar."** Gaara winced at the words in his head growled by his own personal demon.

"How do I know that he's a true friend?"

Yashamaru smiled trying to ignore the flying san, "Take it from me, I've seen the two of you, and you two share a common burden. That's how you know he's a true friend."

" **LIAR!"** The voice was much louder and this time Gaara was sent sprawling to the floor in pain and sand began to swirl all around him. The whole desert seemed to be in an uproar.

"Gaara!" There was Yashamaru's voice; Gaara needed to stop Shukaku! Yashamaru was too close! The sand swirled out of the room as the only thought on Gaara's mind was to get the sand as far from his uncle as possible.

The sand sailed across the village and into the desert – the playing field of the second test of the chuunin exams.

ooOoo

Maki stared at her watch. Only another hour and then she and all the other jonin holding the scrolls would go out and test those kids. It would be fun to see what that little blond could do.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder and as she turned around to investigate her eyes caught sight of a large wave of sand that was headed their way.

Her eyes widened; the sand had a malevolent feel to it.

"What is that?"

"That's what I was about to point out, Maki-san," there was fear in the shinobi's voice, "It's coming from the village."

Maki nodded and looked around at the seven jounin assembled, "Back to the village, quick!"

ooOoo

Naruto was really starting to regret offering to stay up and act as a lookout while his other two teammates rested. In fact he was regretting it so much that he almost missed the large cloud of dust headed their way.

He was absentmindedly drawing kanji on a scroll when he saw it. He'd looked up with little enthusiasm to make sure that his teammates were asleep. And . . . was that a wall? Whatever it was it was coming closer to his team, and it was coming quickly.

He wracked his brain for a solution as he scrambled to his team and roughly nudged them awake.

"Guys, I think you should see this!" His voice wasn't quite shaking, but it wasn't as confident as it usually was and that was cause for panic.

Hana was the first to wake up, her bleary eyes slowly winking open, and then opening wide at the twenty foot tall wall of sand coming straight at them.

"Hana-nee, what am I supposed to do?" Naruto looked helplessly to Hana and then back to the Great Wall, as he'd dubbed it.

"You tried a fuuton jutsu?" her voice was slightly shaking, but it wasn't overly obvious that she was panicking inside.

"No, not yet," Naruto concentrated hard, trying to think of the right jutsu before his hands flashed through the appropriate hand signs: ox, tiger, dog, rabbit, and snake.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" A wave of wind burst forward, but the wall of sand just became wilder.

"Well, that didn't work. Annoying."

Hana and Naruto turned around to look at their other teammate, Ichirou, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "Why don't you just use those shadow clones that you love so much?"

The only noise around the group was the sound of the sand billowing by before Naruto moved his hands into the correct hand-sign and channeled his chakra.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" the telltale smoke appeared and in their wake appeared the clones which quickly assembled around Team Nine and layered to create a dome around them, and just in time, for the sand was upon them.

"Oh, fun. Rescued by an army of six-year olds," Ichirou rolled his eyes in the darkness.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi woke up with the sand in her face, bleary eyed, and cranky, although the crankiness wasn't exactly new, it was simply amplified. And that wall of sand just yards away was not helping her mood.

She froze for a moment as the thought registered in her mind. Her eyes widened and her hands flashed through hand-signs as quickly as possible hoping she'd make it in time. A wall of lava quickly formed at her command all around her team and, with the help of the cool desert wind, began to cool into white rock - quicklime.

She grabbed her teammates and kicked Deidara - he was supposed to be keeping a lookout! – and dragged them both to the center, Akatsuchi by the arm and Deidara by the ear, across the soft sand that was protected by her newly built wall to keep them all as safe as possible in the rare case that the cooling lava failed before it was completely solid.

"What happened un? You didn't need to pull my ear." Deidara was rubbing his ear and glaring at her until he noticed the obsidian rock.

"Sand storm," she breathed out. She was too tired from her use of so much chakra. The last thing she saw was Deidara-nii's grumbling face, and that, at least, gave her some satisfaction.

ooOoo

"Omoi?" Karui was rubbing the back of her head. Had a rock just hit it? She turned to see Omoi still talking about his teammate's cup sizes and her temper flared.

"Yes, Karui?" His face looked too innocent and he was the only one around that would even think that something like that would be even remotely funny.

"Shut up!" she snapped as she smacked the back of his head.

"Ow! You know one day I'm going to get brain injury from all of this abuse and then you'll – what is that?" his tone of voice changed halfway through his sentence and he shakily raised his hand to point.

"What is what?" Karui didn't bother to look up as she responded, but Samui had and she too froze.

"Everyone, get the tent out and hold hands," Samui's was eerily calm. How was she able to stay so collected?

"I'm not holding hands with _him_!"

"Karui, just do it," Samui's tone left no room for argument, "And channel chakra to your feet!"

At this point Karui looked up and saw the sand and all protests died on her lips. The tent was pitched as quickly as possible and they went inside holding hands and channeling chakra to the bottom of the tent, hoping to keep the tent from flying away.

Their efforts almost failed.

ooOoo

"Gaara," Yashamaru's voice was soft but urgent and Gaara looked up to his Uncle in surprise. How could his Uncle not hate him even now?

The next words out of his Uncles mouth gave him pause, however. "Naruto's out there in the desert."

And Gaara panicked. He couldn't lose his only friend! He rushed to the window and tried to calm the sand with Shukaku screaming in his ear to do the opposite. Gaara shook the voice away and thought of his friend's smile, it had saved him from Shukaku so that one day he could save his biju. But that meant that he first had to be able to defeat Shukaku and make it easier for his friend to survive.

" **Stop!"** Shukaku cried in Gaara's head much the way a child would cry and complain to its parents when it didn't get the right flavor of ice cream. But Gaara just concentrated harder and drowned out Shukaku's voice with memories of his first company filled day at the park until, at last, Shukaku grumbled and went back to sleep.

Finally, relief and exhaustion overtook the six-year old that had just had a battle of wills with his biju and he collapsed into the arms of his Uncle.

The sand was still flying in the desert.

ooOoo

Omoi had nearly fallen asleep during the storm, but Karui's death grip on his hand was constantly jolting him awake as they stood in the tent. He swore that she was tightening her grip, but with all the sand flying around and coming in from outside the tent and whipping their faces, he was silent. And he wasn't in the mood for anything except sleep once the storm ended that he fell asleep right where he stood.

When he came back to the realm of the living, he found the tent around him, devoid of sand, and could hear muffled voices. He could discern two of the three, but the third . . . was that the proctor?

Before he could dwell too long on that, he fell once more into the realm of the unconscious. He would later claim that Samui's large chest had taught her stamina and that Karui was too much like a guy that she couldn't ignore the competition with Samui.

Karui just retorted that that meant that he must not be a guy, since his competitiveness was so pathetically feeble.

ooOoo

When Katsue woke up the next morning she frowned. At the zipped up tent flap was a mountain of sand oozing in and sunlight was not visible except through the roof. Was there really such a strong sandstorm throughout the night? They could have all been buried!

She sighed in relief; it was a good thing the tent had so much support; in fact she was quite surprised it was still withstanding that much pressure. She slowly unzipped the tent and dug up to the surface. It was about noon and the storm seemed to have stopped.

She popped back into the tent and shook her teammates awake. It was time to go.

"What is it?" Shirou was certainly groggy in the morning as evidenced by his slurred words and half-lidded eyes.

"There was a sandstorm last night and it's noon now. We need to get going."

Shirou groaned but got up and shook his twin as Katsue crawled out of the tent where she froze and slightly blocked the exit. Why did she bother to wake him up if she wasn't even planning on getting out?

However, in her defense, she hadn't exactly expected Maki to be right outside of the tent frowning and tsk-ing in annoyance.

"So you actually survived the storm last night?" Katsue gulped and got out of the way so that her teammates could exit and, if needed, escape, "Hey, what's wrong? It's not even like I have your scrolls or something, I got lucky and got landed with the Konoha team."

"But, I thought you were the proctor for the exam," Katsue was slightly confused.

"Oh, I am. I was also checking up on the teams. That sandstorm last night wasn't normal. Three of the other teams, all Iwa, Kumo, and Konoha have already given up and that only leaves you guys and another team from each of those. I was actually pretty surprised, some of these guys had no guts," and then Maki smirked, "You guys had better pass this, though. Kazekage-sama would never forgive you if not one Suna team made it to the finals."

Katsue sighed in response but nodded to her superior.

"And one more thing, don't trust Kumo or Iwa, there's something fishy going on with them. They've been a little too chummy lately."

Katsue raised one eyebrow, but responded with a "Hai!" as Maki waved and began running off.

"Ugh, that tent is pretty stuck. It'll take at least ten minutes to get it out," Shirou grumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

Katsue turned to look at her teammates as her thoughts ran away with her. Was war coming?

ooOoo

Naruto dispelled all his clones once one on the outer rim of the dome had to tell them all that the storm had ended and sighed, swaying slightly from the influx of memories as the sand that had piled up beside his clones fell down with its support gone.

"It's over?" Naruto nodded and was about to collapse when Ichirou caught him.

"You need sleep, annoying."

"Should have . . . packed a tent," Naruto mumbled before passing out.

"You think he'll be okay?" Even Hana's dogs seemed slightly worried.

"He should be. We should get moving, though."

"Hai, come on boys," the Haimaru brothers nodded and one of them picked Naruto up.

ooOoo

Kiba pouted at his mother once more as he begged for his very own ninken, "But Hana has one! She has three! Please, please, please, please, please, please?"

"No, you're not ready for one. How can I be sure you'll take care of it?"

"But I will!"

"No, Kiba, not today. Go run off to see your friends."

Tsume was worried, that was something Kiba could tell by looking at her eyes. They were looking past him, and it wasn't as if he didn't know why. His sister was in the chuunin exams, and his mother was worried for her.

He'd only been trying to help get his mother's mind off of it! But, resigning himself to the fact that his mother was content with wallowing in her worry, he left and went off in search of his best friend Shino to tell the bug-boy about his failure to get his mother to teach him anything new. And on his way he passed many Academy Students heading to learn how to be ninja. Kiba looked longingly at their backs. He could hardly wait to enter the system in two months – it was quite infuriating that his sister's teammate had already graduated.

ooOoo

Neji entered the classroom tired and sore everywhere but with a vague sense of accomplishment.

He'd spent the entire morning running with Lee and Gai-sensei, as the jounin insisted he call him, before they proceeded to spar with him. He was slightly better than Lee, but only because of the juuken and Neji had to admit that if he didn't get better then Lee would easily pulverize him.

He looked around the classroom before cringing and taking the available seat on the corner.

All the girls had saved a seat open and were looking at him as if he was a piece of meat, except that one in the other corner. Yes, she had a seat open, but that was more due to the fact that she was the most focused Kunoichi-hopeful in the class and everyone else was too put off by her attitude.

Wasn't she obsessed with anything sharp and was able to be used as a projectile? Hmm. That must be why she was twirling a live kunai in her hand. That was food for thought. Maybe she'd help him with Shuriken throwing and other things like that.

He stood up and approached the empty seat next to her, "Hello, is this seat taken?"

She turned to look at him in surprise, "No, but I guess you want to change that."

He nodded and sat and throughout the course of the Academy day there was a companionable silence among them with the groans of the other girls in the background.

ooOoo

Naruto woke up in the middle of the day on the back of one of Hana's dogs.

"Hey, Hana?"

"Oh, you're awake."

"Yeah, you guys hungry?"

"What do you think? We can't unseal any of your scrolls. Annoying."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "You're welcome for saving your life," and with that he pulled out his scroll and unsealed brunch, in the form of three fruits and a bottle of water for each of them, and dog biscuits for the Haimaru triplets.

Brunch took up half an hour of their time and then they were off again, running into the sunset and desperate to find the jounin with scroll number seven. One day had already been wasted by that sandstorm.

And there still seemed to be no sign of the jonin. Would they make it in time?

ooOoo

It was midnight and all the citizens of Konoha were asleep. The ninja, however, weren't. Everyone chuunin and higher had been at the briefing. War seemed imminent and everything seemed to balance on the chuunin exams in Suna.

And as such, all the animosity between the other shinobi and the Uchiha was being ignored. Such a matter seemed to be so trivial with the looming war. So, the Uchiha called for another meeting. This shift in attitudes was unsettling to the elders. Very unsettling.

The meeting began with silence until the clan head spoke with a clear and commanding voice, "Sasuke wants to go see his friend in the chuunin exams."

The silence resumed and his wife, the ever present Mikoto, smiled. "Well, maybe Itachi and Shisui should take him. If a fight does break out, the two boys could be useful, and you know they wouldn't let anything happen to Sasuke," the smile on her face hid her fear for her children.

She'd never get used to the fact that her sons were smart, talented, and would probably get very far in the shinobi ranks. But, she guessed the worrying came with being a mother of shinobi. And she did want them to go.

Her husband paused, as if something was holding him back. "The Hokage still treats us like his lapdogs."

"Well, Itachi and Shisui aren't in the police force, and I'm quite sure that if we weren't about to face war, more shinobi would love to be part of it. But the fact is that war is coming and it's coming soon."

The meeting continued with the usual verbal attacks on the Hokage, but for the most part the Uchiha were glad that they had a higher standing among the villagers, at least for a time.

Still, many of the Uchiha left the meeting dissatisfied and Mikoto went to go tell her nephew and sons that they would be allowed to go to Suna in a month if Naruto-kun made it that far in the exam.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi had the team running all night once they'd all gotten their bearings after that storm and climbed up her construction of cooled lava. They'd been going at it until they spotted a team, except that it seemed larger than the standard one. They had fifteen people, and . . . three dogs. Was it the Konoha team?

Kurotsuchi smiled that psychotic smile from the day before, except that this time the smile actually scared Deidara as well as Akatsuchi.

"Come on. Let's go teach that brat a lesson."

ooOoo

Naruto had almost fallen asleep when one of his clone sentries woke him up. Yes, he had the insects and the clones, but he had to, the last insect-clone had fallen asleep and was dispelled by Hana. He needed to make sure that they, the Naruto clones, were held accountable while on duty and not once they dispelled. So he wasn't in the best of moods, his chakra was low and though, yes, his chakra would restore itself in a few minutes, he was tired and they hadn't gotten any closer to passing the exam.

"What?" his eyes were slightly drooping and he looked at his clone's feet ready to fall asleep as soon as it said the word.

"There's a group out in the middle of the sand, and they're headed straight at us. I didn't get a good look, but they'll be here in two minutes," Naruto's eyes widened at his clone's words, "The other clones are already waking Hana-nee and Ichirou."

Naruto jumped up and frowned. They were almost on his team. He looked over his shoulder and saw his teammates walking toward him to stare out into the desert before turning back and doing the same only to find that that team was directly in front of them.

He glared at them as they stopped and stared at him with smirks on their faces and he froze again. This fear that he felt wasn't as bad as when that blue fish guy had been fighting his team, but it was close. It was the Iwa team and they looked to be out for blood, or rather, the girl looked to be out for it.

"Hello, son of Yondaime," he could feel his teammates stiffen beside him, "I've been waiting for this all year!" She began to rush forward when Naruto stopped her, desperate for some way to stall so that his chakra could be as restored as possible - it was almost back.

"Are you okay?"

"What?" she hissed. Was that normal too? Because she looked like she needed to go see a therapsist, or whatever the word was, the one that let you talk to them for hours on end and vent your feelings. Kakashi-nii had told him the word; it just wasn't coming out right.

"I mean, you look like you could get some sleep or eat food, and then you'd look a lot happier."

She glared at him.

"Who do you think you are? You're proud of being that murderer's son and you have the nerve to tell me I need help?"

"Well, looking like Otou-san was more to freak out the villagers because they all don't like me, but yeah, of course I'm proud of him. He saved the entire village!"

"He killed my mom!" she rushed forward with a kunai in hand and shipped it across where his chest had been just the moment after there was a yellow flash that nearly blinded her. "Ugh!"

Once her vision adjusted she turned to her teammates and looked expectantly at them.

"What?" Poor Akatsuchi, he never stood a chance.

"Are you guys going to help me, or are you just going to stand there looking like idiots?"

"Hai, Kurotsuchi-sama un." Deidara grumbled in response, she was always ordering them around.

ooOoo

Ichirou stared at the blond, girly looking guy in front of him as he pulled out his katana and took a ready stance.

The blond gave him a look and then grimaced, "She doesn't appreciate my art un."

"Annoying, aren't they?"

Silence.

"Hm. It's too bad that I have to kill you, we could have been good friends."

"I doubt it. You're annoying too."

Deidara glared and then began some hand signs which prompted Ichirou to do some as well for a genjutsu.

"Art is a – What the hell?" Yep, Deidara had been caught in a genjutsu that was inspired by Naruto, "Get away from me, you creeps!" and he was running around trying to get away from the genjutsu-induced illusions allowing Ichirou to just walk up and knock him out with a swift blow to the head.

That didn't however stop Deidara from trying to blow the illusions up before hand and he saw, in that one moment, his bomb fall, unable to hold on to the illusion. He cursed all genjutsu as everything went black.

ooOoo

Hana was struggling slightly with her opponent. There was no idle chatter among them, but she swore she saw him growl at her when she looked at him. Was he distantly related to the Akimichi? Because if he was, that would explain his . . . large stature - not that she had anything Akimichi, they were loyal, brave, and hardworking shinobi, but that didn't mean that they didn't have defining qualities, the most obvious of which was their stature.

Although, he had neither the characteristic swirl on his cheeks nor the smaller noses.

Hm. That was something to look into later. She fell back after a particularly strong blow to her gut and was almost knocked over by a punch that would have hit her had her dogs not tripped him with their tails.

"Is that all you got? My cousin puts up a better fight!" he seemed to really dislike her . . . Hana stood on shaky legs and glared at him trying to ignore the pain from the past punch. She was running low on chakra, her breathing was heavy, and were her ribs cracked?

Damn.

She glanced over to her teammates and saw Naruto still battling the girl that looked crazy and Ichirou just standing there next to his tied up, unconscious opponent."

"Ichirou, get over here! I need some help."

He looked over to her lazily, sighed, and was next to her in two seconds flashing through hand signs for another genjutsu which the brunette just shrugged off.

Ichirou grit his teeth.

"Anything you can tell me about his fighting style?"

"He's close combat, is faster than he looks, pretty strong, and he seems to have a grudge on me. He's an earth type, but other than that, there isn't much to say about him. He's cracked a rib and I have to heal that before I can help you."

Ichirou nodded, surprisingly serious, and without a backward glance or his usual mantra of 'annoying' leapt forward with his katana and began a battle of katana against fist.

ooOoo

Naruto stared at his opponent as she reached for him again and he flashed to the other side of her back. As soon as the battle had started he had thrown kunais with his father's Hiraishin seal all around her in a circle and whenever she tried to grab him he'd teleport away.

He hoped she was getting dizzy and blind.

She flashed through hand signs and sent a wave of lava at him, causing him slight panic as it was coming from all sides, but then something happened that he did not expect.

" **Stay still until the last minute."** Kurama's voice rang in his mind and he predictably froze, **"Now, move!"** He did as Kurama said and teleported away

"Stay still!" she cried reaching for the little blond again with a right hook as her jutsu failed to trap the little blond down.

"Nope!" he replied with a smile before disappearing to her back, finally deciding he'd had enough fun, and grabbing the blunt end of the kunai to bash it into the back of her scull where she dropped unconscious.

"Thanks Kurama!" he whispered and received silence. But still he smiled. Maybe he was getting through to the fox after all!

He looked to see his teammates and quickly rushed to their sides before staring at the enormity that was the last opponent's nose.

"Wow."

"What, are you-?"

"That's one big nose. Can you smell extra good too like Kakashi-nii?"

Their opponent stared at the little kid and huffed.

"Look, your two teammates are down, so we're going to go. Have fun!" and then Naruto grabbed his two teammates and the three dogs and then proceeded to drag them all away.

Akatsuchi stared at his two unconscious teammates, one of which was tied up and gagged, before plopping down on the sand and proceeding to give first aid to his female teammate, and cousin, promptly ignoring his other teammate.

ooOoo

As soon as Naruto and his teammates were five minutes away they sat down and sighed in relief.

"Sorry, guys," Hana said but was cut off by Ichirou.

"That guy was hard to beat; you have nothing to say sorry for."

There was a moment of silence before Hana tried to get up and winced from the pain in her chest.

"Naruto, do you have any soldier pills? I need to fix my ribs and check on my dogs, and I just don't have enough chakra right now."

Naruto sat up and pulled out his scroll before her rolled it out and began inspecting a bunch of the seals. He'd rolled out a meter before he stopped and bit his tongue and unsealed a small mountain of a sack and opened it revealing a mountain of soldier pills that was relatively the same size as its container.

"Why did you bring so many?"

"It's good to be prepared dattebayo!"

"Annoying. And you'd been doing so well on avoiding that stupid verbal tick of yours."

Naruto's shoulders slumped at Ichirou's condescending tendencies before tossing Hana a few pills and taking two for himself.

"Isn't that dangerous, Naruto?"

He shrugged, "They're ramen flavored." As if that explained everything, he turned back to his scroll and resealed the bag of soldier pills and handed Ichirou one before going back to his scroll and rolling it up slightly before taking out three more fruits and some more water.

"Here you go. I think we deserve some, don't you?"

"Do we have it rationed?"

"Yep, and we'll be fine for ten more days dattebayo!"

Silence again. Really, his teammates should have been used to his tendencies to over pack; it wasn't like it was anything new.

"Why do you think they attacked us so readily?"

"Didn't you hear them-?"

"No, I know that part; I just don't see why they attacked us in the middle of the exam."

A pause then, "Neither do I. This is so annoying."

"Thanks guys," Naruto's little voice rang out in the desert and the rest of dinner passed in silence.

Once they had all finished eating, and Hana was all healed up, Naruto created a couple more clones and set them to sentry duty. He smiled at his teammates and with a "Goodnight!" and a smile he plopped down on a blanket and fell right to sleep.

ooOoo

The next day found Katsue and her teammates rushing across the desert hoping to find their jounin – the one with scroll two and as there wasn't much in the form of fun, Shirou had taken to pestering Katsue about what she did in her free time.

"I mean really, you can't just play with those dolls all day-"

"They're puppets."

He continued as if she hadn't interrupted, "There has to be something else you do!"

She sighed and shot Gorou a glare. He was cheering his brother on from the side by nodding to each and every question. That type of encouragement wasn't going to stop the questions anytime soon and she was so tired of them! She was desperately trying to ignore Shirou but every time she tried to tune him out he'd grab her shoulder – why did he do that? Did he know what that did to her heart? – And would proceed to stare her in the eye and tell her that she needed to get out more often.

"Honestly, Shirou, I'm perfectly happy training to be a shinobi," her voice was flat from all the repetition of the same phrase and had a little bit of annoyance laced in it as well.

"But, that can't be all you do all day!" okay, now he was just doing it to annoy her.

"I eat, I train, and I sleep. What more is there to do in this village?"

Shirou got an infuriating smirk on his face. "You could date. I mean, really, Gorou and I have never seen you actually- umpf." she smacked the back of his head.

Silence.

She almost liked it better when he was spouting out nonsense about her personal life.

Her eyes squinted to the west, opposite the rising sun, and she frowned, "Someone's over there. I'd say about two minutes."

"You think that's the jounin that has scroll number two?" Shirou asked coming up right behind her and speaking into her ear.

She froze. He _was_ doing it on purpose! She turned her head to the side, keeping her eyes fixed to the figure on the horizon, "Possibly."

"Oh, get a room, you two!" Gorou complained and Shirou quickly stepped back and Katsue raised one eyebrow.

She may have appeared perfectly calm on the outside, but she was panicking inside.

Why did he have to get so close . . . and why on earth had Gorou stopped it? She was conflicted.

But her attention turned back to the approaching figure. It was not time to get distracted. Approaching them at shinobi speeds was a Suna jounin and he looked to be smirking at them.

It wasn't long before he was right there in front of them and smirking.

"Hello. You Akane's team?" Gorou nodded and the jounin smirked before getting into a taijutsu stance with which none of them were familiar as Katsue got out her three puppets and both Gorou and Shirou went back to back ready and with cloth and knives in their hands.

"You got scroll number two?" Gorou asked and, smirk still in place; the jounin nodded and looked Katsue up and down.

"The name's Akio," the smirk never left the jounin's face and Katsue shivered. He was really starting to creep her out, and then he smiled, "I'm just messing with you guys. But seriously, you have to come at me with everything you have. I'm not letting you have this scroll so easily."

And then he pulled out ten shuriken, five in each hand, in between his knuckles, and launched them at the chuunin hopefuls.

Katsue pulled her hands back, her puppets moving with her, and quickly blocked them all, actually launching the shuriken back.

"Looks like you know how to use those dolls of yours."

She glared, "They're puppets, and I don't see you insulting my teammates even though they're the ones playing with clothes."

"Ah, but those pieces of cloth can be taken as-" his mouth was covered by Shirou's cloth and a kunai, held by Gorou, was at his neck.

"Don't talk, it'll only distract you. Thank you very much for this scroll, but we really need to get going. So, we'll see you once this exam is over!"

"Bye!" and then the twins pulled away, leaving the jounin tied up and gagged before Shirou took Katsue's hand and they all ran off into the desert.

Katsue looked to her teammates once again. They were so much stronger than her . . . all those years, when they'd been chuunin level and she had been striving for it, they'd been training. She'd never be able to catch up to them, would she?

She sealed up her puppets, while not losing the rhythm of the monotonous running, and frowned. She would always be a burden on her teammates.

ooOoo

Omoi stared at his teammates. They slept the entire first day of the exam at the suggestion of the proctor and had run around trying to find the jounin with scroll number four on the second day. It wasn't until the afternoon of the third day, though, that they were actually met with human contact – a jounin of Suna. They grinned.

He pulled out a sword without introducing himself and glanced at all the sharp edges of all of theirs before casting a genjutsu that made them all think they were in one of Fire Country's forests.

"Kai!" Samui said softly, but for her it could be classified as loud, and her vision reverted to normal just in time for her to block the sword.

"Not too bad," he conceded before he continued to attack her. Her teammates were out of the genjutsu, by that time, and they entered the fight, hoping to overwhelm him, and trying to cover each other's backs, but he just parried and dodged every blow. He was too good, dammit! They must have been fighting for ten minutes when it finally seemed that Karui had made a hit.

But no. He'd just ducked under her swipe and twisted his body to end up behind her ready to hit the back of her head with the pommel of his sword.

But, all of a sudden he stopped and smiled.

"Good job, you're chuunin level when it comes to sword fighting. Here's the scroll, have fun." And then he was gone, running away and leaving the scroll in Samui's hand and there was silence for a full ten minutes after the jounin had faded from their sight. And then Omoi began talking again.

"Well, looks like we're done," Omoi should have stopped there but he continued, "He must have taken a liking to Samui's assets!"

He really should have stopped while he was ahead . . .

"Baka!" Karui hit him over the head with the flat side of her sword as she glared at him. Sometimes she swore he was a glutton for punishment.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi woke up slowly at first, a flutter of an eyelid here, a groan as the pain began to make itself known there, and then she sat up in the same manner, trying to ignore the pain at the back of her head while bending her back to get into an upright position. Deidara, however, woke up all at once and began cursing anything that had anything to do with genjutsu.

"What happened?" she warily asked Akatsuchi, the only one of her teammates that looked as if he hadn't spent the evening unconscious.

"You were knocked out by a six year old."

"What?" her voice echoed across the desert and Deidara wondered just how it was possible for her to scream so loudly and not crack her voice.

ooOoo

The day had been relatively quiet for Naruto and company. They had run farther away from the Iwa team as soon as they woke up and had only stopped running once the sun had set again, and since it was the beginning of February, the days were getting longer even if the nights were still ridiculously long.

"Oi, Hana-nee, we have to find that jounin tomorrow, don't we?"

"Hai, tomorrow we need that scroll and then the day after that, we have to be back in the village."

"Okay!"

Neither one of his teammates had mentioned what the Iwa team had said about Naruto's father, and he was grateful for that. It just wasn't something he wanted to talk about while in the middle of an exam. But he could somehow feel their curiosity and it was eating away at his conscience.

He sighed as he settled in for the night and wrapped himself in blankets, yawning. He'd explain later. And with that, the world disappeared.

ooOoo

Maki was not the stereotypical Suna jounin. She believed that as long as the entire team remained intact at the end of a mission, it was okay. Maybe that was why she clashed with so many people, including the Kazekage.

But, it was a fact. Underneath that aloof exterior was someone that worried constantly. She worried about her family getting back from their missions in one piece and she worried about her friends.

She had stopped voicing her opinions years ago, but they were still there. She had become a jounin so she could protect all those weaker than her.

So, when she saw the entire Konoha team sleeping peacefully, about a mile away from her position, she paused. What if these kids weren't ready? What about their families?

Surely the six-year-old's parents would cry and cry for their little bundle of sunshine.

She knew there was a possibility for death in the exams, she'd had them sign the release forms after all, but it was so close to the end of the exam that she'd half expected them to have given up.

"Alright kids," the blond jolted awake and scrambled up, waking up his teammates with nudges to their gut, "Time to see if you can take this scroll. Should be fun."

There was confusion on the child's face, as if he wasn't expecting her.

"Eh? You're the proctor dattebayo!"

"Yep, and I have scroll number seven, so if we're done chitchatting, I'd like to get this over with and done."

Naruto frowned but shrugged, pulling out a few of his Hiraishin kunai and tossing them across the desert, to which she just raised an eyebrow.

Ichirou's sleepily commented his trademark "annoying," as he pulled out his katana and began casting a genjutsu while Hana pulled a couple of Naruto's ramen flavored soldier pills and tossed them to her dogs.

"Alright you guys done getting ready?" Maki was getting slightly impatient. She already didn't like fighting the little kids, even if it would be fun. She just hoped she didn't kill the little brat.

Naruto nodded and Maki leapt forward, straight at the blond, and was shocked when he disappeared with a Yellow Flash. Was that how he had made it through so far? She smiled. This would be fun, and that kid would probably get the scroll before the fight was over.

She smiled as she got out her own cloth for cloth binding and the dogs leaped at her, ready to tear out her neck. She quickly bound all the dogs together before turning to face the rest of the Konoha team.

"Haimaru!" Hana called out to all her dogs and rushed toward them trying to pry the cloth off of them, hoping to get them out of it before it squeezed her boys to death. She glared at Maki as nothing she did for them made any affect.

"It won't work. My chakra strengthens it. You'd better stop me before they suffocate."

Naruto, who had been trying to find a way to beat this lady, was behind her, a few feet away, when it suddenly hit him – fuuton jutsu at close range with his Hiraishin seals!

He threw a kunai at her feet and began the hand sequence for a fuuton: Daitoppa before quickly teleporting and performing the jutsu at close range with as much chakra as he could manage.

Maki didn't know what had happened; all she knew was that she was dizzy and someone was taking the scroll and had a kunai to her neck.

"Let the Haimaru brothers go dattebayo!" the little blond shouted and when she looked at him she saw that he was actually worried about his teammate's dogs and looked fierce, a little bit of red was seeping into his eyes, which had become slits.

She quickly released the jutsu and he removed the kunai from her neck allowing her to get up and rub it eyeing him warily.

"Good job," she praised hesitantly and then smiled as if nothing had even happened, even though inside she was slightly unnerved, and waved; "Now you have to keep that until tomorrow evening. Have fun!"

And then she was gone, running back across the desert.

What had just happened?

As Maki left, she grinned. That had been fun, even if she was still slightly disoriented and trying to remember why that jutsu of that kid's was so familiar.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi growled at her teammates as they continued across the desert. She was still a bit sore about the fact that a six year old was able to knock her out. The humiliation . . . it was embarrassing.

She scowled before pumping chakra into her feet and rushed forward trying to run away from the humiliation, it was almost too much to bear. She needed to vent her frustration somehow.

ooOoo

It was nighttime in the desert of Wind Country and the wind was not as rough as usual. Not that that meant anything, though. Baki was still wary of the foreign teams. So as he saw them on the horizon, and he knew it was them as the tall, rather large one was running behind his teammates.

They spotted him, but didn't say anything. It was as if they'd been waiting for him, and in a way they had.

He smirked at them. They were just genin, what hope did they have against him? He began a fuuton jutsu and threw a wind blade at them. They immediately countered with a wall of lava.

Well . . . he was anxious to get home, but maybe he'd play with these kids . . . He got into a taijutsu stance as he readied himself for an attack. They came at him from all sides and his jounin instincts, that he'd spent years perfecting, kicked into action.

He blocked the punch from the blond and met the kick of the girl with his own, backing away from the uppercut aimed at his head. Man, these kids had great teamwork. He zipped through hand signs faster than the genin could see and wind pushed them all away.

"Alright," he smirked at the little genin, "You've got me interested," they smirked in satisfaction, "So you can have the scroll. Be back in the village at sundown tomorrow, any sooner, or later, and you are disqualified."

"What?" the girl looked ready to spontaneously combust.

"Yep, you've satisfied me for now," and then he was gone.

"Ugh, this is so frustrating!" Kurotsuchi scowled at the jounin as he disappeared too quickly for them to follow.

ooOoo

Naruto stared at the horizon. Night was starting to fall, and they had to get back to the village by the next day or they wouldn't even be able to pass! He frowned. He was so tired, but on the horizon was another team – he was really getting sick of this! He missed the trees of Fire Country.

He sighed in frustration. All this sand was getting to him; it was under his clothes, scrapping at his skin and rubbing him in all the wrong places! What he needed was a nice long bath. Yep, as soon as he got back to Suna, he'd rub himself down with water and get a sponge bath. Maybe he could get Gaara to remove all the sand . . . that was a nice thought!

He looked up at the team that stopped in front of his team and stared at them with his big blue eyes.

"Hello. You're not going to attack us like the Iwa team, are you?" the words were out of his mouth before anyone could say anything else.

ooOoo

When the two Root agents reached their destination, they didn't go immediately in. the elder looked to his teammate expectantly and the little teammate drew a series of rats that immediately became lifelike and began scouting out the surrounding area.

The mission had been simple and had the two been better trained, they would not have thought twice about the fact that it was so odd to be infiltrating an Iwa base when they were not quite hostile. But what did they know?

They did, after all, seem slightly tensed . . . even a bit excited. This was disturbing. Danzo-sama needed to be informed right away.

ooOoo

Katsue woke up the next morning with a grimace. The little kid's words had unnerved her. First, Maki had told them not to trust Iwa or Kumo, saying nothing about Konoha, and then they found out that Iwa had attacked the Konoha team. This was really not the best of news, but there wasn't much they could do about it.

So, she sat up and looked around the tent to find the blond kid staring at her.

"What?"

"You know, you sleep funny."

She lifted an eyebrow at that, "Really? And how's that?"

"You sleep on your back and then in the middle of the night you sit up and throw off the covers off before you lay back down again."

She looked down and saw that yes, the covers weren't there before she sighed and got up to begin packing.

"Come on, we've got to hurry up if we want to get back to the village by nightfall," and then it was as if his entire face had changed. The blond smiled and jumped up with such enthusiasm that he must have taken five soldier pills.

Okay, maybe that was exaggerating slightly, but honestly, that wasn't normal.

"Okay!" the next thing she knew everyone was awake and the tent was packed away as they all rushed across the desert. Good, she needed to speak to her superiors.

ooOoo

The Hokage smiled as his clone placed the last of the paperwork into the large pile and picked up his pipe before looking out the window . . . . And jumping back as his student jumped through it.

"Sensei, he's at the chuunin exams right now, isn't he?"

The old man smiled, "Yes," then he adopted a more serious look, "It would be best if you were there."

"What? Of course I will! I've got to get that kid up to shape if he makes it to the final round and then-"

"Remember the situation, Jiraiya. There aren't going to be hot springs in Suna, you need to stay focused."

A pause and then a nod indicated he understood the seriousness of the situation. "I'll watch over him." And then he was gone, launched from the windowsill and on his way to Sunagakure.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi groaned as she ran back the village that they were going to be attacking soon. She hated to admit it, but she was tired, hungry, and thirsty. Oh, she was so thirsty. She frowned. When would they get back?

She shook her head. That didn't matter, just as long as she was able to get back and take a nice long cool shower to wash away this grime and this feeling of sweat coating her skin.

ooOoo

Omoi sighed, sometimes annoying Karui and commenting on Samui's assets, as nice as they were, got tiring. He sighed as he continued to rummage through his bags looking for that annoying and elusive water bottle.

Had it fallen? He didn't even want to think about that happening. He shook his head and continued searching through the bag.

"Come on, Omoi! We need to get going!" He sighed as Karui screamed across the desert, a good fifty feet away before he struggled to his feet and swung his bag onto his back. He'd have to go thirsty for now.

ooOoo

By nightfall, Naruto was getting nervous. What if they didn't make it in time? Would they be disqualified? But then, just as the sun finished setting and the sun's rays could still be seen over the horizon, the village sprung up among the sand dunes.

And Naruto was very glad they had the Suna team with them. They'd had a nice tent and were not averse to sharing supplies, as long as he did the same. The fact that Iwa had attacked them had seemed to alarm them slightly, but it didn't really matter all that much to Naruto. He was absolutely sure that they'd attacked him for who his father was and for no other reason.

But then, why had they reacted the way they had?

Oh well, he had plenty of time to think about that later, right now he wanted to see how Gaara was dealing. Of course, he wished Hinata-chan were there too, but he just needed to wait, she'd come soon. Right? Of course right.

ooOoo

The Kazekage looked at the four teams critically. There were four teams, just enough to allow them through to the finals without preliminary matches. What a shame, he'd actually been looking forward to seeing what the blond child that had become his son's friend could do. Ah well, he only had to wait another month.

Oh yes, he'd seen the change in his son the past few days. He'd been slightly subdued since the sandstorm, but he also looked slightly healthier. And according to his brother-in-law, Gaara even understood the concept of love thanks to that child.

He hadn't bothered to stay and listen to the explanation, but it was enough for him to acknowledge that his son was getting better. And it was all thanks to that child.

Now if only the child could convince their daimyou to give them more funding. He'd never have even entertained the thought unless the child hadn't done what he had believed to be impossible.

Anyway, he looked at all the different chuunin-hopefuls and began speaking.

"The true reason for these exams is to act as a substitute for war," a few murmurings from the elder genin, but not the blond, "the next part in particular, as not only will shinobi from all over the world be seeing you, but so will the Daimyou. You have a month to prepare for the final part of the exam. It will be tournament-style and you will know who you opponents are by picking a name out of the bag," he gave the signal with his left hand and Maki walked forward holding a sack cloth, allowing all of them to grab a number. "Say your number and we'll record it."

ooOoo

Naruto was slightly nervous as he stood next to the large guy from the Iwa team. They'd given no indication that they had even registered he was there, and that was slightly worrying. They had to planning something . . .

He shook his head as the sack of numbers was given to him. Eleven. He had no idea what it meant, and was pretty sure the others didn't either, but told them the number before he returned to surveying the teams that passed.

He knew the Iwa psychos and the Suna team, but there was another one that looked just as unapproachable as Kakashi-nii!

But he brightened up when he saw Gaara's uncle – Yesa-something . . . whatever-his-name-was recording their numbers.

"Hello, I am Yashamaru, and I will be the proctor for the final exam."

Ah, Yashamaru! That's what it was.

"Hey, Yashamaru-san, what were those numbers for?"

"Those were to figure out who you will fight."

"Oh . . . okay."

Yashamaru's lips twitched, wanting to smile, but he schooled his face.

"The matches will be Kurotsuchi of Iwa versus Shirou of Suna, Inuzuka Hana versus Omoi of Kumo, Haruno Ichirou versus Deidara of Iwa, Katsue of Suna versus Karui of Kumo, Samui of Kumo versus Akatsuchi of Iwa, and Uzumaki Naruto versus Gorou of Suna."

Naruto grimaced, he honestly didn't want to fight the guy that he'd met the day before; in fact he liked the group from Suna, particularly the twins. They were funny. He sighed but nodded at Yashamaru-san.

"Any questions?" Yashamaru looked to them all with a pleasant smile on his face. "None?"

Silence.

"Okay! There is a stadium just behind the Kazekage building and you need to be standing inside the arena by nine hundred hours sharp, exactly a month from now, or you will be disqualified. Good luck!"

And then he waved and turned to the Kazekage that simply nodded and turned beginning to walk away.

Naruto, as ever slightly confused at the abruptness of it all, turned to his teammates, "That's it? There has to be more!"

Ichirou sighed and rubbed his forehead, "There is more, you annoyance. It's in a month."

The blond frowned for a moment before shrugging and running out of the room, hoping to find Gaara before it got too late.

ooOoo

The team from Suna, seeing the blonde's disappearance approached his teammates and Shirou, the ever tactful one, bluntly asked, "How does he still have so much energy?"

Shaking her head in amusement, Hana chuckled and rubbed the Haimaru brothers heads before smiling and replying, "We're honestly not quite sure, he just does," because they didn't know if it was natural or from the Kyuubi, and it was just easier to leave that out.

"Oh. Okay. Well, we'd better be getting home soon. Our moms will want to know that we're not dead!" Gorou announced much too cheerily for such a morbid thought.

Hana smiled, "Yeah, well my mom won't know for a few more days. I'd better go find Naruto before he does something that'll get him into trouble. Come on Ichirou!"

"Yeah, yeah. Annoying."

The Suna team snickered behind their backs with amusement.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi glared at her teammates, and then at the disappearing figure of the blond.

"If anyone of you has the chance, kill him."

"I thought you wanted –"

"I know, but honestly, I just want him dead," her teammates believed her. There was a steel in her eyes

There was a moment of silence as all the other teams left and Deidara was beginning to get slightly nervous with the inactivity. So, once everyone had left he flung an arm over her shoulders and announced, "Well, then, let's get training."

And then everything seemed fine, because they were in this together, and they were going to make Konoha pay for what they did to Iwa.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Gaara had been waiting in his room when Naruto came bursting in bubbling with excitement at his success. But Gaara didn't respond. He kept a mask, for what would Naruto say when he found out that that sandstorm had been his fault? He'd hate him. Or not. But the suspense was . . . making him nervous. And Gaara did not _do_ nervous.

Nevertheless, he was toughing it out and waiting anxiously to make sure that Naruto was okay, and, more importantly, alive.

So, Gaara did not respond, because he found out what he'd wanted to know. His only friend in the world was alive, despite Shukaku's efforts to prove otherwise.

"Hey, Gaara, are you listening? And then there was this huge sandstorm and my wind jutsu did nothing against it! I had to make clones and they covered my entire team! Hey, Gaara, I don't think you _are_ listening!"

Gaara turned to face his friend and took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and opened his mouth, "I caused the sandstorm."

There was silence and then, "Really, what happened?" there was only curiosity in the blonde's voice, and Gaara looked up, slightly relieved and strangely not surprised.

"Shukaku said that you weren't my friend, that you were going to leave me," Gaara smiled slightly, "I told him, that since you were curing Kurama, I would cure him!"

Naruto smiled at that, "That's great! We can work together on –" his exclamation was cut short by a yawn and Naruto's eyes suddenly drooped, "Ano, Gaara, I'm tired, so I'm going to go to sleep. Do you mind if I stay here tonight, I don't feel like walking back to the hotel, but . . . I had wanted . . . to tell you that . . ." and Naruto was out, leaving Gaara with an unconscious blond on his bed, snoring.

ooOoo

So, maybe it hadn't been the best of ideas to send two children out to an Iwa outpost without a completely detailed mission. In Root, when a team is sent out to 'scout out' an enemy outpost, they are expected to annihilate said outpost. The problem had been that there had been no other more experienced Root agents to go and supervise.

Great.

Danzo was not in the best of moods as his agents sat kneeling in front of him and he read the report. But, there was not much he could do and so he sighed and lowered the mission report as he looked critically at the two.

"Good job," he lied, "Get a larger team and train with them. In a month you need to go and annihilate that outpost."

And then the Sandaime would get blamed for starting another Shinobi war. Things were going to be perfect. Kumo and Iwa were looking for any reason to fight nowadays, from what his sources told him.

ooOoo

Hinata's clothes were getting soaked from her sweat and her muscles were beginning to ache, but she wasn't about to give up and disappoint her father. She really wanted to see Naruto in the exams!

They'd been practicing kata and chakra manipulation and she had found that she didn't have nearly as much as Naruto, because he seemed to have inexhaustible reserves.

She'd asked her father about that, but he acted really weird. He kept trying to change the subject, and wouldn't answer her question.

"That's enough for now, Hinata. We'll begin again tomorrow, and if you keep this up, we'll leave for Suna in three weeks. That is, if he passed."

Her face lit up. She didn't really need to know why Naruto was the way he was, it was only important that he was who he was. Everything else didn't matter.

ooOoo

Naruto and Gaara could be found under the hot Suna sun dodging shuriken, Naruto was flinging them at Gaara and Gaara was catching them with his sand and flinging it back. Ah, the joys of murderous youth.

Honestly, what had Jiraiya been expecting to find? Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't the smiling blond that looked the spitting image of his father playing with the spitting image of the Yondaime Kazekage. He could just imagine the two as the kage their fathers were.

He smiled slightly at the six year old children before he walked up to them and attracted the attention of the smiling red-head. The smile disappeared, and a cautious expression took its place.

"Who are you?"

"Me?" Jiraiya was having fun playing the clueless one, "Why, thank you for asking! I am Mount Myoboku-gama's holy master sennin, also known as toad sennin, remember it!"

Naruto and Gaara stared at him for a moment before Naruto opened his mouth, "Why does that sound so familiar?"

He turned to Gaara who simply shrugged and looked down at the shuriken in his hand that his sand had handed him before he flung it at the sage.

"Hey kids," Jiraiya shouted catching the shuriken on his forefinger, "don't go playing with this stuff if you don't know how to hold it properly." He moved forward, gently took Gaara's fingers and curled them around the metal star correctly into an easy, relaxed, and flexible grip."

The red head looked at his hand in concentration and then looked up at the white-haired sennin. After a moment of scrutiny, Gaara replied, "Okay, so who are you?"

Jiraiya sighed and lowered his head to his chest in mock defeat when Naruto spoke up, "I remember! You were Yondaime's sensei! Kakashi-nii told me about you!"

Lifting an eyebrow at the blond, Jiraiya frowned; he was pretty sure the kid knew who his parents were . . . but he quickly turned that frown upside down and smiled at the kids and replying, "I am also the illustrious writer –" he paused, realizing that his audience was much too young to even entertain such thoughts and then continued, "of _Tales of a Gutsy Ninja_! You should read it. The main character's name is Naruto!"

The blond paused and stared at the man for a moment. So, _that's_ where he got his name. That explained so much.

Gaara simply looked back and forth between the two before speaking up in confusion, "Did you want something?"

"Why yes, yes I did," Jiraiya replied with a half-smile, "I am here, under the Hokage's command to train Naruto-kun, my godson."

At those words, the two boys stared at the for further explanation and the white-haired, perverted sennin sighed, "For the chuunin exams." Realization dawned on their slightly chubby faces and Jiraiya bit back a snort. The red-head was taking his cues from the blond.

It was almost comical.

Jiraiya grinned, this would be beyond fun. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go get balloons and as much water as we can find."

"Why?"

Jiraiya just smiled, making extra sure to make sure that his smile was as deranged as possible. "To explode them, of course."

The two exchanged a glance and then turned back to him. Naruto opened his mouth, "Are you sure you're a responsible adult?"

Jiraiya sighed. His attempt at intimidation seemed to have not worked.

ooOoo

Temari and Kakuro had been studying all that they could on self-defense ever since their father and uncle told them they'd be seeing their 'brother.' They weren't ignorant of what he kept contained, but he was still family, right? At least that was the story Temari was trying to sell the both of them.

They had been looking at all sorts of defensive weapons at the Suna training grounds when they saw him. And for once, he wasn't alone. And he was smiling.

ooOoo

"Alright, the first thing we need to do is find a bathhouse."

The two six year olds stared at him, Naruto in confusion, and Gaara as if the old man had lost his mind.

"This is Suna, there are no bathhouses," Gaara replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and in hindsight, Jiraiya realized it was and nearly started to cry dramatically.

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm not being paid enough for this," he sighed looking up at the sky before turning to the two children, "Well then, I guess we'll just have to make do with the training grounds. There ought to be some women there."

"What do girls have to do with anything?" asked Naruto as he and Gaara hurried after the white haired man.

He didn't answer.

ooOoo

When Gaara decided to follow Naruto around for the rest of the month, he didn't think he'd be included in the training being offered the blond by the legendary Sennin of Konoha. He thought he'd just get to spend time with his first friend in the world.

He also had not expected to see his siblings. So when the trio entered the training ground, Gaara was smiling at the story that Naruto was telling of his days teasing Sasuke and playing with Hinata. Gaara really wanted to meet them.

And his smile didn't leave his face as they approached the weapons stand, because Jiraiya had already handed Naruto a water balloon and had turned to him and began him on shuriken drills.

For once, someone besides his uncle was helping him. He held the shuriken just as Jiraiya-san had told him to and threw the shuriken. But then something caught his eye: two children, older than him, were staring at him from the weapons table as if petrified.

He tilted his head at them before turning back to Naruto who was concentrating on his water balloon.

"Naruto, do you want to meet my brother and sister?"

Naruto turned to him with a slightly blank face before a smile spread across it and he nodded.

"Sure!"

Gaara turned to his brother and sister, who were eyeing him warily, and began walking towards them with Naruto at his back.

Their eyes became slightly panicked and Gaara wondered for a moment why he always got those looks, but that's not right. He didn't _always_ get those looks. There was also Naruto, who had only ever looked at him as a friend, as a human.

Then there was the fact that they were his family. If he didn't have them, who did he have? Besides Naruto, of course.

"Gaara," his elder sister began, and he was happy because she didn't seem as panicked as his brother did. Of course, his brother looked like he wanted the earth to eat him up, so it wasn't much of an improvement. It did, however, make her his favorite sibling.

"Temari, Kankuro, this is my friend Naruto."

They stared and Naruto came up behind him, a wide smile on his face, as he waved at them.

"Hi!"

They looked at him curiously; where was the fear?

"I'm, training for the chuunin exams at the end of the month, and Gaara's helping me! He said you're his brother and sister, do you tell him stories like Kakashi-nii does with me? Because that would be so –"

"Whoa, you talk a lot. How old are you, anyway?"

"Six."

There was a moment of silence as the two siblings stared at him and so the blond turned to look at where his teacher – Jiraiya – was staring at a group of Suna kunoichi in the paddock beside them.

He frowned. Why was he staring at those ladies? And thinking back on it, why had he even wanted the bathhouses? And then it hit him and he smiled just like Kakahsi-nii did when Naruto was about to go out into the village dressed like his otou-san.

"Oi, ero-sennin get over here!"

Jiraiya jumped and glared as the kunoichi he had been ogling glared.

He turned and glared at the blond, "And how would you know words like that?"

Naruto grinned, "That's what everyone calls Kakashi-nii!" the blond chirped and then turned to look at the Sand siblings.

"So, do you think we could train together? I mean I have to fight Gorou of Suna first, and I don't really know how he fights . . . I need to know everything!"

The Sand Siblings stared at him confused. He was being serious?

"Umm. Sure," the siblings traded glances but nodded as the blond made ten clones and then set them to staring at the water balloons.

"So, what do the people of Suna do best?"

The twins exchanged looks. "Should we really be giving out village secrets?"

"You're not, though! It's not like you're teaching me. I bet I could find out about it from Ero-sennin!"

"Ero-sennin?" the blond girl asked with a bit of disdain in her voice and Naruto turned to her with a mischievous smile painting his face and once again, Jiraiya glared at the little kid.

"Because he's so obsessed with all the ladies!"

ooOoo

Hinata was eating breakfast with her family when a scroll from the Hokage was delivered by a hawk to her father and as he quickly opened it and scanned its contents she couldn't help but feel that it had to do with Naruto.

She hoped he was okay.

She stared at her father as he finished the scroll and rolled it up before looking to her mother. Hinata was nearly bursting with the anticipation when he finally turned to her.

"Naruto has passed the first and second parts of his exam," Hinata beamed at this and Hiashi continued, "In approximately one month, the finals will be held." He stared into his six-year old daughter's eyes. "That means that for the next three weeks you must train."

But Hinata didn't mind. Naruto was almost chuunin! The thought made her giddy with excitement and she couldn't help but not care about the upcoming three weeks of grueling practice her father was going to put her through; Naruto was safe and he was going to be Hokage in no time.

ooOoo

The training ground frequented by many genin teams seemed almost peaceful except that there wasn't an overly energetic green beast running around and trying to get two academy students to join them.

Neji glared at Lee once more before turning to Tenten, "I apologize for his enthusiasm. It can be a little hard to swallow."

But she didn't mind; she simply giggled at the spandex-clad genin that was so excited about having yet another training partner.

"This is wonderful, Neji-san! That means we can be like a real genin team! Gai-sensei will be so proud of our youth!"

Neji rolled his eyes.

"Did someone say youth?"

Neji paused in slight panic. Why did Lee have to mention youth just as Gai-sensei was arriving? Couldn't he have mentioned it at the start of his rant? Or did he do that too? Neji couldn't remember anymore.

"Gai-sensei, Neji-san brought Tenten-san to train with us! She is said to be very good with kunai and shuriken!"

"Wonderful! I have more wonderful youthful news as well, Lee!"

Tenten spared Neji a look and raised an eyebrow as if to ask, 'Are they always like this?' But it was alright, she wasn't going to leave, because from what Neji could tell, she looked amused, not frightened.

So, Neji nodded slightly before turning back to Gai-sensei.

"We are going to Suna!"

Silence reigned for a moment before Lee broke out in a wide smile and slight disappointment.

"Naruto-san has advanced? That means that I must train harder! Tenten-san, we must run around the village at least five hundred times!" he grabbed Tenten arm as she grabbed Neji's hoping that he could keep her grounded.

Such a vain hope.

ooOoo

A figure in green flashed by the window of the tea shop that Itachi and Shisui usually frequented. In fact at that moment, the two were sharing a complacent silence that neither seemed willing to break, until Shisui sighed.

"Is it wise to take Sasuke to Suna?" Shisui placed his teacup back onto the table as Itachi raised an eyebrow and took another lingering sip.

"He'd never forgive me if we left him behind. Officially this isn't a mission." He took another sip and Shisui folded his arms on the table.

"He needs to know that something might happen. It won't be good if he were caught in the crossfire because he's trying to find out what's happening."

Itachi finally put his cup down and folded his arms, mirroring his cousin, "I know, but I don't want to destroy his innocence just yet. He's only six."

"And war may be coming – he'll have to fight then anyway."

Itachi retained a stoic silence before he caught his cousin's eyes. "I'll tell him today, find out what he wants to do."

"He'll still want to go Itachi."

"I know, Shisui-nii. But, if I can spare him, I will."

ooOoo

Kiba was nearly jumping with anticipation as he returned to the Inuzuka kennels after another day of learning with Shino. They'd both been studying how to read and write – or rather, Shino was studying and Kiba was balancing a pencil on his nose.

The only reason he'd even left Shino to his studying, though, wasn't because of the work that Shino was pushing on him; it was because he'd seen the Suna bird flying to the Hokage tower, which meant that he'd get to hear if his sister was going to be in the finals! His excitement did not extend to the blond genin on his sister's team, whom he viewed as a tag along, but he was excited for his sister nonetheless and so was sprinting home.

Inuzuka Tsume was a very controlled woman. She did not seem the type of woman to worry about others, but if one of her colleagues had seen her as Kiba had when he found her, scroll in hand, they would have asked whether the Kyuubi had taken more than just her husband on the night it had attacked.

Kiba frowned as his mother slowly came to her surroundings and gave him a weak smile.

"We're going to have a new litter in three months, Kiba. I think you're ready, what do you think?"

Kiba's eyes became comically large and Tsume smiled a bit wider.

"We're going to Suna to watch the finals of the chuunin exams and when we come back you'll be going into the Academy. I need you to be on your best behavior and I need you to promise me that if anything happens to me," she swallowed, pausing, "you'll find your sister and make sure nothing happens to either of you."

Kiba gave her a reproachful look, expecting a better explanation, but she offered none and repeated, "Promise me."

"Okay, okaa-san. I promise."

Tsume smiled, ruffled his hair despite his protests and shouts of 'hey!' and smiled at his disgruntled expression, "wake up bright and early tomorrow, I need to show you the clan katas."

His face transformed and he smiled widely. And although Tsume was wary of the coming days, she was glad that Kiba could still smile.

ooOoo

Ino and Sakura were arranging flowers in the park when Sasuke showed up with his brother, and although the girls would have wanted nothing more than to go and profess their 'undying love' they held back. It seemed to be a serious conversation. Instead they talked about the upcoming chuunin exams.

"And kaa-san and tou-san said that as long as I stay with Ichirou-nii-san, I can go see him in the exams!"

"Sakura, I don't know if that's so great, my dad said that things are getting weird between the other countries and that that's why I can't go with you."

"What? You're not going?"

"Otou-san said no, so I guess not."

"But, that means I'll be all alone!"

"I don't know why you'd even want to go see a couple of people fight each other. It seems pretty troublesome to me."

The two six-year-old girls whirled around to see another six-year old, with a spiky pony tail and a lazy expression on his face and his companion, a chubby, happy-looking child eating a bag of chips.

"Nobody asked your opinion, Shikamaru."

The spiky haired individual rolled his eyes at the two girls and muttered, "Troublesome women" before turning around and walking toward a bench and laying down."

"Who was that?" Sakura asked Ino with a slightly offended expression on her face. Ino rolled her eyes at the boy before turning back to her pink haired friend.

"That was Shikamaru, and he is the laziest person I have ever met," Sakura nodded her head in agreement, "Anyway, let's talk about Sasuke, he's much more interesting. You know how we're going to the academy next month? Well, I heard that he's going to try for graduation as soon as possible! And you know, his big brother graduated when he was . . ."

ooOoo

Fugaku sat in his office at the police station completely swamped with paperwork. There wasn't as much to do as the Hokage had to deal with, he was sure, but that didn't make him feel any better.

The fact that the Uchiha were still blamed for the death of Yondaime did not sit well with the Uchiha and their plans for a coup had been foiled for the simple reason that a war seemed to be coming up and if – _when -_ the Uchiha succeeded they did not want to deal with a war and weakened force.

He stacked another set of papers and set them aside before pulling more papers together and beginning to go over them.

A report on a burglary that had been apprehended by his nephew Shisui. A report on vandalism of the Academy apprehended by his own cousin. A report on spying by one of Danzo's minions . . . apprehended by Itachi.

He smiled and then scowled. It was just like Danzo to keep tabs and suspect the Uchiha. He'd been keeping tabs on the clan since the Kyuubi attack and even though they had been planning a coup, they had put that aside because of the current tensions between the big five – Kiri counted, it was in a Civil War after all.

But still, he was proud that his son had apprehended the Root Agent. In fact, hadn't Sandaime shut down that operation? The Sandaime really knew next to nothing about what happened in his own village . . .

Itachi was growing up though, he'd make a good clan head, even if he was soft-hearted.

ooOoo

The Sandaime finished signing the last of his paperwork when the door opened, and expecting another stack of his endless bane, he sighed and reluctantly looked up.

"Geez, Tou-san, I would have thought you'd be a little happier to see me." Drawled the Hokage's wayward son as he took his cigarette out and appeared to contemplate it for a moment before flicking it out the window.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the younger Sarutobi and sighed, "I thought you were bringing me more paperwork," Asuma snorted before composing his face. "What are you doing here? I thought you were one of the Guardians. Not that I mind, but . . ."

There was a pause, then, "The Twelve of us had a falling out. I sided with you."

The old man looked up and raised one of his eyebrows. "And why did you do that."

"Because you're my father."

"Think about that answer a bit more and then come and see me. Would you like to be reinstated as a Konoha-nin?"

Asuma paused, then nodded.

"Kakashi is in a pub, I believe. He's celebrating." The look on Asuma's face was almost funny enough for the old man to laugh. Instead, he smiled slightly. "His pupil has made it into the third round of the chuunin exams in Suna."

"Kakashi has a pupil?"

"I'll leave him to explain everything to you."

ooOoo

Kakashi had been beside himself until he received the missive from Suna telling him that Naruto had succeeded in getting to the third test – to take place in a month. Now he was celebrating solo in a pub and thinking of his old team with Minato-sensei, Obito, and Rin. He wondered if he could make a team like that – Naruto acted enough like Obito for it to work . . . maybe.

He should ask the Hokage. In fact, he would. The fact that Naruto was six probably wouldn't be that much of a problem.

Kakashi took another swig of the sake, making sure no one had seen under his mask when the door to the pub frequented by most jounin opened and in walked his old friend Sarutobi Asuma.

"Since when did you get back?"

"I got back about an hour ago and talked to my dad. He said you have a pupil? Why have I never heard of this? I thought you went into ANBU."

Kakashi nodded, "I did. Uzumaki Naruto though has been my 'pupil,' or rather apprentice, for three years. He has another sensei though. You know him. Genma-san."

"Th-the kyuu-"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you." Kakashi glared with his one eye.

"But, what happened?"

"Didn't you hear about what happened with Kumo?" Comprehension dawned on his face.

"Oh that? Was he the one that stopped it? The daimyou was scared Kumo were actually going to declare war."

"They may yet do that."

"What?" Asuma raised his eyebrows.

"All shinobi are to be on high alert at the Suna exams. Suna has been warned and we are offering all of our support."

"That . . . why?"

"Iwa and Kumo have been too friendly lately. And we're pretty sure that they know about Naruto."

"What about the kid."

"Don't you think it odd that his last name is Uzumaki and that he's a blond?"

"No."

Kakashi rolled his eyes and stood up. "You'll get it when you see him."

"Get what?" called Asuma through the door. "Damn Scarecrow."

ooOoo

Katsue sighed as she flopped down onto the floor of the training grounds as Shirou and Gorou released her from the cloth.

"Have you made anymore poisons?" Shirou asked as he leaned over her and shielded her from the sun.

"Yes." She growled.

"Antidotes?" he replied with a devious smile.

"Of course, but they're not going to be on me. I left them with sensei."

"And what about –"

"Shirou, just drop it. I need to rest a bit. I think you might have dislocated one of my shoulders."

"Oh." Shirou frowned. "Why didn't you say something in the first place?" and then he picked her up bridal-style and carried her to the medics on the side of the grounds.

"There you go, all better. Be careful, now. We don't want to see you get hurt from an old wound in the exams. We need every able shinobi to fight."

"Hai," Katsue muttered as she rolled her shoulder in its socket and avoided the eyes of her teammates.

"You all should rest now. The sun's going to be going down soon."

"Come on, Katsue, I'll take you home!" Shirou announced with a cheeky smile on his face.

"Sure you will," Katsue mumbled.

"No, really! On my honor as a shinobi of Suna, I declare it a mission!"

"Then you just sullied your reputation and failed, because I'm going home alone!" Katsue smiled and then ran off, jumping onto the roof and hopping home.

"She just loves playing hard to get, doesn't she?" Gorou smirked at his elder twin.

"Alas, she does! What am I to do?" The amusement in their faces was enough to deserve them a smack over the head from Katsue, had she been there to see it.

ooOoo

Deidara growled as he flung more kunai at Akatsuchi.

"Sometimes I can't stand Kurotsuchi! She thinks she's absolutely the most wonderful thing to have happened to Iwa since her grandfather un! Sometimes I want to just blow her up and make her art un! Then she might stand a chance of making that claim true un!"

Akatsuchi sighed as he deflected the kunai towards the trees and unrolled the scroll his sensei had given him for the new earth jutsu.

"Deidara, just give it a rest. Kurotsuchi is too focused on killing that Konoha kid to notice even if you did blow her up."

"That's the problem! She's not even fighting with me anymore! It's not normal!"

"Deidara, really, shut up! I'm trying to concentrate on learning this jutsu."

"Why? It's not like you'll be able to master it by the time the month's up. Didn't sensei tell us to hone what we already know?"

"Yes. And that's why on my breaks I'm studying the other jutsus."

Deidara gave Akatsuchi an incredulous look and then shrugged his shoulders, adopting a bored expression.

"Good luck with that then, you'll need it." There was that smirk of his – now everything was right with the world again. "I'm going to go find sensei and see what he can tell me about that kinjustu that Iwa has hidden about molding chakra into clay . . ."

Akatsuchi, not really paying attention nodded, "Yeah, you do that . . ."

ooOoo

"Yo!"

Karui and Omoi jumped at the arrival of their sensei, and Samui simply looked up with a blank expression on her face.

"Sensei."

"I have talked to my nii-san and we have agreed that the three of you have surpassed my help."

"That's a horrible rap." Omoi muttered and Kirabi pretended not to hear.

"Anyway, the new team will be called Team Samui, when you all become chuunin yo."

The other two looked slightly annoyed, but understood – Samui was the most 'cool' of the three of them and would be a better team leader than either of them.

"Okay. But we're not chuunin yet." Samui said with half lidded eyes – she'd stayed up late the night before studying a scroll on kenjutsu forms.

"Yeah," Kirabi smirked, "Which is why –"

"Kirabi, I hope you weren't messing with your students." A nineteen year old blond kunoichi smirked from the roof of the adjacent building before hopping down.

"Y-Yugito-san!"

She smacked him over the head.

"Yugito- _sama_!

"H-Hai!"

"Anyway, you had better be working hard. Technically I'm not supposed to be here, but Raikage-sama got some information about some jinchuuriki here and wanted me here in case anything went out of control – they're supposed to be very young or something." Then she smiled, "I believe Kirabi here has been less than motivating for you three but it stops here. Drop and give me sixteen hundred."

They dropped and began push-ups and she raised an eyebrow.

"I meant sixteen hundred ryou, but that works too."*

ooOoo

"No, no, no, you're doing it wrong!" Naruto shouted at the toad sennin who stood there with an amused expression on his face.

"How?"

"You need to put in more chakra!" Naruto whined as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and Gaara stood not too far away a smile playing on his lips, "Do you even know _how_ to put in more chakra?"

Okay, maybe that hadn't been the best thing to say to the toad sennin, but he was six.

"More chakra? You think you can channel more chakra then me?"

"Well _obviously_! If you can't even do a simple Henge –"

"There's nothing _simple_ about this Henge! I'll show you channeling a lot of chakra! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" And flashing through the hand signs – boar, dog, bird, monkey, and ram – the toad sennin slammed his hands onto the ground and summoning a large toad.

For a moment no one moved.

Then Naruto grabbed a scroll, flashed through the same signs and summoned Pakkun. A smirk on the six year old's face looked slightly out of place.

"You're not the only one that can summon animals."

Jiraiya in turn stared at the ninken that was looking between the sennin and his godson and with a slightly serious expression on his face said, "Want to sign the toad contract. It is your birthright, technically."

Naruto's face broke out into a smile and Gaara looked on curiously as it suddenly became pensive.

"Only when I pass the chuunin exams! I will, dattebayo! And then you'll pass that scroll on to me!"

His smile was nearly blinding, and Gaara mirrored it. It seemed quite out of place in the training ground.

ooOoo

Far away, in Mizu no Kuni, the Yondaime Mizukage mused over the civil war breaking out and the purging of the bloodlines. The Sanbi had been rather complacent lately, remaining calm in his seal, and now there were very few left, if any at all were, of the ancient Mizu bloodlines. The Yuki clan in particular was practically dead.

The young Mizukage glanced back out the window, ignoring his paperwork. The seven swordsmen had suffered a loss with the defection of Kisame. And he could see that Zabuza was getting restless.

It seemed quite pointless to drive them away. With the purging of the bloodlines, only those with the strength to survive would. He – had he lost his mind? He didn't know. He didn't think so . . . but sometimes he wondered, and then it went away and he could see the red spinning eyes.

ooOoo

Zabuza had no idea that the Mizukage was musing over his loyalty. Not that is was without reason. Zabuza was annoyed by his kage. What kind of moron weakens their forces, especially with the tensions between the other four great nations?

As Zabuza walked along the road, he paused, a little girl – or was it a boy, he was pretty sure the chakra signature said it was a boy – was fighting with a dog. And the kid lost. He kept walking, making his way to a bridge. The kid probably wouldn't last anyway. It was time for him to give that information to the resistance spy.

ooOoo

Naruto and Gaara swung on the swing in the park a week before the final exams were to start.

"Hinata-chan's leaving Konoha tomorrow, Gaara! Isn't that great? You'll get to meet her, and Sasuke-teme, and Kakashi-nii!"

Gaara smiled. "Have you gotten that balloon down yet?"

Naruto frowned. "No. I think I'm doing something wrong. I just can't seem to get it to pop."

"Maybe you're spinning the water the wrong way . . ." Naruto paused and stared at Gaara for a moment for jumping up and smacking himself in the forehead.

"Ugh! Why didn't I see it before? Kakashi-nii told me about this once!" and then Naruto was running back to the training grounds, Gaara hot on his trail, with the crowd readily rushing out of the way of the demon and his weird blond friend.

"Ero-sennin! Give me another balloon!" Naruto commanded with a proud smile on his face and Jiraiya lifted an eyebrow.

"You've had your clones at it for hours. They're still at it."

Naruto looked around them and then canceled the jutsu before smiling and looking at the sennin expectantly.

"Fine." The sennin gave Naruto one more balloon and smirked as Naruto concentrated on it. Five seconds later, the balloon popped and Naruto and Gaara beamed.

"I told you I'd get it." Jiraiya took a moment to stare at the blond prodigy.

"Next step is to pop this rubber ball. It's more power than anything else."

Naruto created fifty clones before he and Gaara ran off again.

ooOoo

"How do you know that your parents loved you?" Gaara asked the next day before they began Gaara's own jutsu arsenal. Naruto had filched a chakra paper from his sensei's pack and had discovered that besides the sand, Gaara had an affinity for wind.

There was a moment where Naruto smiled sadly and lifted up his shirt, channeling a bit of chakra and the smile began more terribly sad as a swirling pattern appeared.

"My parents wrote this with their blood to save me and the entire village. If that's not love, I don't know what is."

"My kaa-san died when I was born. I killed her." Gaara whispered. They were both being uncharacteristically solemn.

"No you didn't." They both turned to see the toad sennin staring at them. "You didn't kill your mother. The person that sealed the Ichibi in you did. They didn't even do a good job of sealing it either – "

"Shukaku."

"What?"

"His name is Shukaku."

"Well, even then, you didn't do it."

"But, she loved me, right?"

"From what I've heard from Yashamaru – you know how we talk while you guys sleep? – she loved you more than anything."

Gaara smiled a bit at that before he and Naruto set to work.

"Yashamaru said that wind affinity is found mostly in Kaze no kuni and that we are the best at it. And we don't have leaves. I'm telling you, we're going at it the wrong way!" Gaara growled as he stared at the leaf that Naruto had unsealed from a scroll and that refused to cut.

"And I'm telling you that this is how Kakashi-nii taught me to master it!"

"And you said it took you three weeks with a hundred clones."

"Yeah, so don't feel bad! You're doing better than I did at first!"

"But my chakra's still not listening to me. I'm putting too much and it turns to sand, I put too little and nothing happens."

There was a moment of silence between the six-year olds as Naruto stared owlishly for a moment.

"Oh!"

"Oh what?"

"We need to teach you tree-climbing."

"But there are no trees."

More silence.

"So?"

Gaara glared. "We can't climb trees if there are none."

"We can just climb the buildings."

ooOoo

The next day dawned brightly on Konoha, and as the Hokage was about to leave the village, the village was in a flurry of activity. And in the playground by the Academy entrance, a sixteen-year old chuunin with a scar across his nose stood watching as the next batch of new genin boasted to their parents that they were now ninja.

He sighed and turned to the Hokage that was walking toward him, a smile on his face and a scroll in his hands in full kage dress.

"Iruka-san, your assignment is still ongoing, and if you like it so much, you can keep it for a while longer. You've been doing a wonderful job."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." He opened the scroll with the roster for the next batch of academy students and smiled –the incoming six year olds included that little Hyuuga girl he had met at that shinobi store.

"And remember, Iruka-san, don't dally around with teaching them civilian things. Teach them exactly what they need to know. I'm afraid we will need as many able shinobi very soon." The Hokage's face had become grave, not like its usual grandfatherly expression at all and Iruka was taken aback by the seriousness in the voice.

War.

"Hai."

ooOoo

As Iruka walked away from the Hokage, the Hokage thought back to the girl recently recovered by his ANBU – the abandoned student of his former pupil. She was a good shinobi, but caution was to be exercised – especially in light of the fact that war was on the horizon.

He sighed; it was still hard to believe that his little pupil could be responsible for such pain and suffering.

Looking over Konoha, the aging man felt his age and remembered Biwako, Minato, Kushina, Hashirama-sensei, Tobirama-sensei, and all those that had died before their time. The world was a cruel place.

ooOoo

Orochimaru was having no such thoughts for the dead. He was traveling through Kaminari no Kuni (the Land of Lightning) with his Akatsuki partner, a nuke-nin of Suna. They weren't doing much. Occasionally Sasori would growl at Orochimaru to hurry up and Orochimaru would chuckle.

"I know you hate waiting around, Sasori-san, but good things come to those who wait." That smirk was insufferable.

"I don't need good things. All I need is my art. You are not my art, so I have no qualms with destroying you."

"Sasori-san, don't be so pessimistic." The drawling, scooping voice of the sennin was coupled with a sickly smile.

The essence of their banter was very repetitive. Threats and admonishments were traded. And that was the strange thing. There were no Kumo-nins around, even though the two Akatsuki members were in broad daylight.

After two more hours of walking and bickering, the two nins became quiet, and apprehensive.

"Why do you suppose we haven't been met yet, Sasori-san?"

There was a contemplative silence and then the puppet-man spoke.

"Kumo has been emptied."

ooOoo

The genin team that had been hired by the Sarutobi and Hyuuga families to watch over the kids while they went to Suna was slightly nervous. They had a one year old and a two year old that both seemed to be determined with pulling the hair out of the female teammate and refused to eat the food, instead having fun flinging it at the genin and jounin as if they were throwing stars. The sushi was particularly good ammunition for this.

And that was when they were alone. With the two children together, this genin team did not want to see what the toddlers were capable of doing to them.

As the two toddlers were put into the same playpen and their parents left, the two looked at each other curiously, and then, to the horror of the genin team and their jounin-sensei, smiled at each other.

ooOoo

Danzo watched as the Hokage left the village to see the exams. He knew what was brewing, and he knew the Hokage did too. He silently applauded his colleague, and old rival. The Hokage had taken necessary precautions, and even if war broke out, Konoha would not be completely defenseless, but that also meant that they would need more spies.

It was time to blackmail the orphanage.

He'd need that hidden card before the end.

ooOoo

The sun set as Naruto and Gaara panted next to each other in the Suna training grounds, Gaara's siblings not too far away and panting as well from their exercises.

Although after five seconds, Naruto stopped panting and jumped back up again – Gaara and Jiraiya staring at him in shock.

"How do you have so much energy?" Gaara asked with surprise and awe in his voice.

"I think it's Kurama."

"Kurama?" Jiraiya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's the Kyubi's name! He told me!"

Jiraiya began stuttering as he stared at the blond. Why hadn't Sarutobi-sensei told him?

"That's great! You know I think we should get to the gate, the Konoha contingent should be arriving soon."

Naruto and Gaara both jumped up in excitement, Gaara slightly late and continuing to glance at Naruto.

Naruto shouted "Hinata!" before grabbing Gaara's hand and pulling him along. "You'll love her! I know you will! And Sasuke-teme!"

ooOoo

Yashamaru and the Kazekage watched as the Konoha contingent entered the Suna gates. The next few days would be very tense, as both Kumo and Iwa were arriving within the day.

"You need to make sure that the genin in the arena cannot escape if fighting does break out in the middle of the exams. If we are lucky enough to get through the exams, we will have to be on high alert."

"Hai, Kazekage-sama."

"How is Gaara?"

"The influence of the other jinchuuriki has done wonders for him."

"Good. Keep them close during the exams."

"Hai, Kazekage-sama."

They watched from the tower as the unmistakable red and blond heads of the two allied jinchuriki rushed to the gates and practically attacked the Hyuuga mass.

ooOoo

"Hinata!" Naruto's voice could be heard as soon as Kakashi walked into Suna.

"Hello, Naruto."

The blond spun around, and the red head next to him did too.

"Kakashi-nii!" and the next moment Kakashi found himself on the floor with a mass of yellow hair in his face.

Damn it. Now he couldn't see Asuma's face!

"Naruto, get off." He growled and laughing, the fishcake complied.

"Kakashi-nii, this is my new friend Gaara!"

The jounin's attention turned to the redhead next to Naruto and took a step back.

"Kazekage-sama, have you shrunken?" But that wasn't right. The Kazekage was almost in his forties and this kid looked to be six . . . just like Naruto.

He groaned internally, but then eye-smiled and scratched the back of his head – a habit that he noticed Naruto was copying at that moment.

"He's Gaara, the Kazekage's son. We've been training together, and some of the things he can do are so cool, dattebayo!"

"Ah, hahahaha." Kakashi returned Naruto's sheepish smile and then motioned to Asuma who, he noticed with a smirk, was staring at Naruto as if he'd just grown two heads.

Naruto really looked like his father.

"Asuma-kun, this is my pupil, apprentice, otouto-chan, whatever you want to call him, Naruto. Naruto, this is my friend, the wind specialist, Asuma. He came back to the village three weeks ago from that mission I told you about."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "You're the Sandaime's son, right!"

That seemed to pull Asuma out of his stupor.

"Hello!"

"Hello! Come on Gaara! You have to meet Sasuke-teme and Hinata-chan dattebayo!"

"Goodbye Naruto!"

"Bye Kakashi-nii!"

And then the two jinchuuriki were barreling through the Hyuuga contingent that, when seeing the blond hair and blinding amounts of chakra had parted.

"N-N-Naruto-kun?" the quiet voice of the Hyuga heiress made the two whirlwinds stop and stare. Hinata was staring at them with wide eyes and Gaara suddenly felt self-conscious.

The awkward silence was only broken by the arrival of three others.

"Hey, Naruto." Sasuke had arrived with his brother and cousin.

Naruto turned to Gaara and faux-whispered, "that's Sasuke. You know . . ."

There was a silence and then Gaara opened his mouth.

"Hey, Sasuke-teme!"

Hinata giggled and then stopped as Sasuke scowled. And then they all bent over laughing again, even Sasuke cracked a grin.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The atmosphere in the smokey gambling room was tense as they waited with baited breaths for the cards to go down and for them to calculate their winnings or, as seemed the case for the past hour, losses. The blond woman raised her eyebrow at the group of men that all sat around her, hands raised and keeping their hand of cards away from prying eyes. And they put their cards down. One glance caused groans to go around the table and the blond woman, the only woman at the table, collected her money.

"Deal me in again."

The men shook their heads.

"Deal me in," she demanded a second time, but they refused.

Really, her luck couldn't last. She was the unluckiest person in the world. How could she have won all ten games?

"I like my money, thank you."

The blond glared, and then roughly stood. "Fine. Come on Shizune, let's get out of here." The brunette standing behind her lit up, hopefully the blond would stop gambling for the day . . . it really was a vain hope.

The blond woman simply went to a machine and proceeded to hit the jackpot five times in a row.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune seemed terrified of incurring the blonde's wrath.

"Shizune, when was the last time I won?"

"Ummm . . . that would be never."

"Right. Which means my luck's changed and that means something bad is going to happen. Come on, Shizune!" the blond was already out the door, her hands in her pockets.

"Wait, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune was scurrying to grab all the money together in a bag and make follow her sensei. "Where are we going?"

"Back to Konoha!"

Shizune paused in the street, not believing the words, "What? Why?"

"I need to ask Sensei who else I have to lose."

Shizune stood there for a moment contemplating her sensei's words before hurrying after her, a pig in tow.

ooOoo

Hinata awoke with a start, her heart pounding and a large frown on her face. That stupid dream had reared its ugly head again. Hinata, slightly shaken, crawled out of her bed and got dressed, before realizing that it was not her room, nor even her village – as she looked out the window.

It was the day of the finals of the chuunin exams, and Naruto was nearby. He'd help her forget the nightmare. Hinata rushed to get dressed, and then rushed to her parents room.

"Tou-san, Okaa-san! I'm going to go see Naruto!"

They grunted groggily and Hinata took that as an affirmative before skipping to the hotel just across from their own and knocking on Naruto's door hurriedly which opened after several minutes to Naruto rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hinata-chan?"

"Good morning, Naruto-kun! I was wondering if it was too early to get Gaara-kun and Sasuke-kun and begin warm-ups." Hinata hoped he wouldn't think it was a ridiculous idea, but spending time with Naruto would get her mind off of the red . . . the fear . . . the hate . . .

But, contrary to her own fears, Naruto broke out into a smile and said cheerfully, all signs of sleep gone, "Sure, just let me get dressed!"

ooOoo

"Why are we waking up this early again?" Sasuke said a scowl on his face as his brother and cousin watched the four six year olds with small smiles on their faces.

"Because, we're warming up! All good shinobi warm up before they do anything else! It makes it so that if you have to fight, you won't pull a muscle!" Naruto seemed to be speaking from experience, judging from the frown on his face, and Sasuke rolled his eyes before stretching.

What a sucker.

"Sasuke-teme," Gaara's voice rang out in the room and Itachi and Shisui stifled their laughter, "Perhaps if you spent more time listening to your senseis, then you would already be a shinobi like Naruto!"

Sasuke scowled irritation on his face and Naruto smiled broadly.

"It's okay, Sasuke-teme! I learned the hard way too."

And then laughter erupted from Hinata as she collapsed into giggles, unable to continue the stretches.

ooOoo

Sakura stared at her brother as he checked his equipment over again. It was nice seeing her brother after so long, but he seemed to be a bit sullen.

"Are you okay nii-san?"

Ichirou turned toward his little sister, a soft expression on his face. "Yeah, Sakura-chan. I'll be fine."

"You're going to be great . . . you know that . . . right?"He rolled his eyes as she continued, "I mean look at all the swords you have!"

He froze and turned to her, very seriously, though fighting a smile.

"I have only one sword. Then there's my katana and my tantou. They're different Sakura-chan."

She looked up at him from her seat on the bed.

"See! You know more than me!" she puffed out her chest importantly, "And I can already read kanji - okaa-san taught me."

Ichirou chuckled as he ruffled her hair and she shrieked in protest - he'd knocked her ribbon aside! - before walked toward the door, his little sister grumbling, but following behind.

"Nii-san . . ."

"Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"What's a tanto?"

ooOoo

Kakashi had been having such a nice dream . . . it had involved his favorite scenes from his favorite book in a bath house . . . and then it was ruined by jumping and an all too familiar voice.

"I don't care who you are, or what memory you have to honor, not even Obito-nii would miss this!"

Next thing Kakashi knew, he was being dragged out of his hotel room by four children as he watched the faces of Genma, Raido, and Asuma stifling laughs while Gai and mini-Gai 'cried' from the youthfulness of it all.

Damn.

And he'd been hoping to sleep in.

ooOoo

The Suna sun was hot on regular days, but it seemed to rise with a vengeance for some reason. So as the crowd assembled under the tent, the stuffiness from lack of air circulation was testing people's tempers.

And in a high box, at noon,the four kage met.

It wasn't pleasant. They barely acknowledged one another. They simply nodded their heads stiffly and sat down, ANBU bodyguards even tenser and simply waiting for attack. They weren't physically tense, though. No, the tension was more in the air than anything else. They looked rather relaxed, and an outsider would simply say that they seemed uncomfortable from lack of relief from the weather.

And then, as the contestants for the finals of the chuunin exams assembled in the arena, many in the audience had to rub their eyes – for there in the arena was a five year old, and he bore a striking resemblance to the Kiiroi Senko. Murmurs passed through the crowd and the blond in the arena seemed oblivious to both the comments and the tension.

ooOoo

Under the Suna sun, about an afternoon away from Sunagakure – and thus not as sheltered from the blistering sun – was fifty teams of four, half Iwa-nin and the other half Kumo-nin, rushing to get to Sunagakure. They did not have much further to go.

ooOoo

Yashamaru spared Naruto a smile before he looked up to the Kage booth for the go ahead. He didn't necessarily like his brother-in-law – he hated him – but he respected his Kage, and seeing the tensions from a distance were a little disconcerting. But, his kage gave the signal – a wave of his hand and a tip of his hat – and Yashamaru raised his hand to quiet the murmuring crowd.

"Welcome to the bi-annual chuunin exams between Sunagakure, Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure. This year's exams will consist of three rounds – the first round of six matches and the contestants will be graded on their ability to plan, think ahead, get the job done, and ability. If all of the contestants are ready we will begin with the first round between Kurotsuchi of Iwa and Shirou of Suna and if the rest of the contestants could go up to the waiting room, we will begin."

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi stared at her opponent, not at all liking the smirk on his face. It was too confident and too annoying. He didn't have the right to smirk! He needed to be crushed into the ground and smashed. And why wouldn't the match just begin? She was anxious. She needed to get moving - to do _something._

"Hajime."

And then Kurotsuchi let out all her fury, lashing through hand signs and jumping back as cloth came in her direction. She almost scoffed at it too. Who used cloth, really? It was an insult to all she held dear.

So, to counteract that, her fire dragon rushed forward, nearly burning all the cloth to crisp. In fact it would have, had the cloth not ripped itself apart. Her opponent eyed her carefully as the fire dragon dissipated, smoke getting into the eyes of the audience and causing many to rub their eyes furiously and search for water.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kurotsuchi asked him, annoyed. He hadn't moved yet and it was really starting to grate on her nerves.

"I'm thinking of how best to rile you up." He replied cheerily, but his eyes were calculating and Kurotsuchi stopped, frowning and glaring.

And then his eyes were blank and Kurotsuchi brushed it off. He went through a few more hand seals and Kurotsuchi jumped up hoping to dodge whatever he'd just done, landing on the edge of one of the stands. This was taking too long, because she wanted it over quickly. She glared some more and then smirked. She'd worked on it the whole month, why not try it now?

Rabbit, Ox, Dog, Snake, and then, "Youton: Sekkaigyo no Jutsu." Her opponent jumped back, but the bottom of his shoes were caught in the quicklime and triumphantly she jumped down. And now she was stuck – in quicksand. Damn.

If looks could kill, he'd be dead. And he just looked back at her lazily! And walked away with sand sticking to the quicklime that had not been applied to his feet correctly.

"I give up." He said loudly for the audience to hear and made his way back to the waiting area with Kurotsuchi staring at his back incredulously. He could have won, and instead decided to make a fool out of her.

She glared at him as she again attempted to get her feet out of the sand, her black hair beginning to stick to the sides of her face from the sweat. She really hated this village.

ooOoo

Katsue was glaring at him as he entered the waiting room. He knew she would be –and he knew she wouldn't be happy. But he didn't feel like giving away all of his skills especially with the tensions that sensei had warned them about.

"Why did you just give up like that? You had her, everyone knows it!" Katsue whispered furiously as Shirou joined her and his twin.

Shirou smiled at them both, Katsue's glower and Gorou's searching eyes. "Everyone knows, and that's all that really matters. Besides, I don't want Iwa or Kumo to know anything substantial."

Katsue was still scowling at him, but Gorou had nodded and turned back to the stadium where the Iwa-nin Kurotsuchi was being helped out of the sand.

"So, anyway Katsue how about dinner tonight?" he smiled widely as she began to stutter and her cheeks reddened. "I'll take that a yes."

ooOoo

Hana was looking at the Kumo-nin as he went down the stairs with trepidation. She was nervous, there was no denying that, but the tensions that had been growing since that ill-fated mission where they almost had a fight with the Iwa team that was here had reached some kind of peak and they looked ready to kill any that got in her way. She felt like she was on the tip of a mountain and was still undecided as to which was she was going to fall and that it all depended on the next few hours.

And she had to fight this Kumo-nin. And then if she won _that_ she had to fight the psycho. She almost hoped she didn't pass through this round, if only for that reason alone.

"Hey, Hana?" the little voice that was more commonly heard exclaiming all sorts of childish things was more quiet and happier somehow then when it was when making others laugh from jokes and the like, and as Hana looked down to her teammate, her second little brother, she saw Naruto's wide eyes staring at her with a strange expectancy.

"Yeah, Naruto-chan?"

"You go and show them what a Konoha Kunoichi is made of!" he was smiling happily.

Hana grinned and walked out towards the tented arena with a strange new confidence that she couldn't quite explain.

ooOoo

"Hajime."

As Omoi stared across the arena at the Kunoichi and three ninken he grimaced inwardly. It was hardly fair that it should be four against one. Then again . . . she was a girl, and he could use that to his advantage. But then she might go crazy on him like Karui and end up giving him a concussion.

Girls tended to overreact with him around.

"Nice assets." There was a moment of confusion on her face and then, shockingly, instead of scowling at him as Karui was apt to do, she smiled benignly and tilted her head to the side. The reaction, not being what he had expected, caused him to pause before drawing his sword.

Pulling it across in a ready position, he raised an eyebrow as she simply nodded. And suddenly the three dogs beside her sprang into action and there were flying tornadoes everywhere, the sand was picking up from the wind and was getting in his eyes.

And it stung his eyes. He couldn't see anything.

Omoi moved a little, and his sword was grabbed by one of the tornadoes, and there was chaos all around him. He was trapped. He _hated_ being trapped. Cursing under his breath, Omoi pulled out a kunai and focused chakra to his feet, propelling himself out of the cloud of sand.

Right into the path of the smirking kunoichi who had _his_ sword in her hands and held it to his neck.

Damn.

"Inuzuka Hana wins the second match," the proctor called out.

"Bitch nearly suffocated me," he muttered as he accepted his sword back and walked off - completely ignoring the smirk on her face.

ooOoo

It's amazing how quickly tensions can become open hostility.

No, really. The Tsuchikage and Raikage were both clenching their jaws and fists and the Kazekage and Hokage were fighting to keep smiles off of their faces.

"Perhaps you should teach your student to be less confident," the Raikage nearly growled at the Hokage who didn't seem fazed at all.

"Ah, I believe that would be the influence of her younger teammate. He seems to believe that anything can be accomplished if you just believe in it enough."

"Yes, that would be the one that graduated before the standard age that your village has," the Raikage glared.

Silence, and then, "There were special circumstances."

"Yes, the son of the Yondaime Hokage must be treated with privilege," resounded the biting tone of the Tsuchikage. Onoki was annoyed.

The tension increased, particularly among the ANBU.

The Kazekage raised an eyebrow at the Hokage but remained silent.

"Naruto is special even without his father being who he was. Now, I believe the next round is about to start."

ooOoo

Ichirou was trying to breathe evenly but was finding it hard to do so. He'd fought this guy before – in the second test – and he knew that the guy seemed to like art and explosions. How that worked out, Ichirou had no idea but, to each his own. And Ichirou did not want to understand what went on in that psycho's mind.

It was too annoying anyways.

He nodded to the glaring blond and brought out his sword, noticing that the guy's maniacal gleam and – was that clay in his hands? What an annoyance. The place was stuffy enough.

"Hajime."

ooOoo

As soon as the go-ahead was given, Deidara sprang into action grabbing a kunai and throwing the bomb that he had made out of the blue – a little bird with a chakra string attached so he could quickly explode it once it was far enough, or close enough, depending on the perspective.

But it never got there. Suddenly, Deidara found himself in quicksand. That jutsu that the pansy had used on Kurotsuchi was still working? He was going to kill the bastard!

Deidara began struggling and trying to pull his legs out of the sand that he didn't even notice that no one was saying anything.

And what was that cold stuff at the back of his neck.

"Haruno Ichirou wins this round." And the sand became still again, his opponent was behind him, sword at his neck.

Crap. The bastard got him in another genjutsu.

ooOoo

Sakura was smiling so broadly in the stands that her face hurt. But she didn't want to stop smiling, and so she smiled through the pain, making it hurt even more. And none of that mattered, because Ichirou won!

"Take that!" she growled triumphantly.

"Hmph, I don't see why you're so excited, I bet he won't make it past the next round."

Sakura paused and slowly turned to look at the voice that had just insulted her brother. It was Kiba. The little girl scowled at the Inuzuka and harrumphed as she turned away snobbishly.

"I bet you he will!"

Kiba snorted but turned to her, a smirk on his face.

"I bet he won't, and if I win you have to carry my bag to the Academy for the first month."

Sakura eyed him for a moment, glowering and seething, before she nodded and stuck out her tongue, "Same goes with your sister," and then she turned back to the arena with a grim expression on her face.

ooOoo

Katsue had nervously been eyeing the flat-chested crazy girl in the corner since the flat-chested crazy girl's teammate had battled that Konoha-nin and with every passing match, her apprehension grew and grew.

It didn't ease as she walked down the stairs or down the corridor that led to the arena where the flat-chested crazy girl was already waiting, having jumped down from the balcony. In fact she got even more nervous. She almost forgot to hide herself and have her puppet impersonate her as she was going down.

But she remembered just in time, and when she walked her puppet into the arena she could feel the glare coming from the flat-chested crazy girl.

Really, could the girl not chill?

"Hajime," Yashamaru-san called out and as soon as the words left his mouth, Katsue found herself forced to dodge the swiping sword that would have cut the head off of her puppet.

She had her puppet dodge a few more swipes and found her body, or at least the body of her puppet, bending in ways she hadn't even known were possible. Honestly, were the Kumo-nin as skeleton free as the jellyfish that Maki told her lived in the sea? Katsue found herself battling the flat-chested crazy girl with her puppet's sword and prayed that she'd get at least a scratch in – because she'd be lucky if she could, the flat chested crazy girl knew her way around a sword.

Katsue had coated all her weapons with a paralyzing poison, of her own creation and if she could just land one scratch, she'd win the match with none the wiser.

But as she dodged another close swipe that came much too close to her real body that she could feel the displaced air at the back of her neck, she realized that she might not be able to get that swipe in.

And Katsue couldn't accept that. She dodged another swipe, ducking under and swiping the legs of her puppet at the flat-chested crazy girl as said flat-chested crazy girl jumped back. For a moment the two stared at each other and the entire arena was silent save for the heavy breathing of the two girls.

Katsue had always been the second best. She'd always been a hindrance to her teammates. They had always been so far ahead of her. They deserved the title of chuunin many times over, and because they were a team they had chosen not to push her too far. Because they were worried about her, the team had hesitated. And now, in front of all these people, once she'd finally convinced her team that she was ready, she was going to let them down?

That wasn't acceptable! It wasn't allowed to happen. She wasn't going to prove them right when she had finally convinced them to let her try.

She tightened her hands, hidden behind her puppet in plain sight.

She wouldn't let them down, she would prove to them that she could do this.

She threw a few kunai at the flat-chested crazy girl and ran her puppet forward. Her opponent was getting much more tired than Katsue was – which was normal, Katsue was really only moving her fingers and arms, but mostly her fingers while the flat chested crazy girl was moving her whole body. And Katsue was far more used to the climate, despite the month that the flat chested crazy girl had had to acclimate herself.

Another swipe, another duck, another parry, and then at last, a small scratch on the flat-chested crazy girl's hand and though the girl glanced at it, there was not much attention paid to it.

It wasn't life threatening.

But Katsue was smirking inside, smiling. She'd drawn the first blood and had succeeded in paralyzing the flat-chested crazy girl.

ooOoo

Karui was getting annoyed at this annoying little chit. She hadn't seemed to break a sweat, and here she was, sweating buckets. It wasn't fair! Karui was really getting ready to just blow everything up like that Iwa-nin that seemed obsessed with them . . . and now that it came to it, she could understand why. This was taking too long, and this girl was getting annoying.

And why was she suddenly cold?

Karui glanced at the cut on her hand again and froze, her hand was littered with green veins that indicated poison.

Damn that bitch to hell and back.

"I give up. Just give me the fucking antidote!" Karui spat out, finding that she couldn't move the entire left side of her body.

The proctor raised his eyes at her profanity, but who cared? That bitch would pay, Karui vowed.

And fuck.

The girl slipped off of the back of what Karui had thought was the bitch and had instead been the puppet, caught something that was thrown at her from the crowd and tossed it over, smiling the entire time.

Karui glared as she caught the antidote with her right hand and injected it into her left arm.

Bitch.

ooOoo

"What just happened?" the Raikage risked asking in the tense atmosphere. But the match had been abruptly ended – what did they expect?

And damn that Kazekage. He just smirked and replied cryptically, "An old Suna tactic that is useful and widely used."

"Thank you Kazekage-sama, that was most enlightening."

Laughter bubbled up behind them and all the kage turned to see a small red headed child with the most severe case of insomnia any had ever seen – if the circle's under the child's eyes were anything to go by.

"What are you doing here, Gaara?" asked the Kazekage, but was it just Gaara's imagination, or was he gentler in his speech than usual?

Gaara shook the thought away as he turned to the Hokage and smiled, "Hokage-ojii, thank you for letting me meet Naruto! You better be ready to hand that hat over to him! Same goes to you tou-san!" And then Gaara ran out of the booth, quickly, not wanting to miss his friend's upcoming battle.

"What was that?" Onoki asked through gritted teeth.

"That was my son," the Kazekage said after a moment of looking at the place from which his son had disappeared.

"Yes, that explains it wonderfully," Onoki muttered as he turned back to the arena, his eyes rolling in the process.

ooOoo

"Would Samui of Kumo and Akatsuchi of Iwa please come down to the arena?"

As soon as Akatsuchi heard the words he paused. He didn't really feel in the mood to fight just yet, that had always been Kurotsuchi's prerogative. And if he lost, Iwa would lose all respect. It could go either way . . . and if he fought, his tactics could be quickly analyzed and when the real fighting actually came around, he'd be at a terrible disadvantage. It wasn't fair really.

Either way he'd lose.

"I forfeit."

There was silence. Akatsuchi wasn't sure how the words had left his mouth, he only knew that they had and that he felt strangely relieved. He didn't really feel like fighting just yet, and this way neither Kumo nor Iwa were hurt by the fight.

In the stands, they didn't seem to share the same opinion, and murmuring could be heard. His opponent was also eyeing him, but Akatsuchi smiled in relief when she did not confront him about it.

Down in the arena, the Proctor cleared his throat, "Uh, Samui of Kumo takes the match by forfeit. Would Uzumaki Naruto and Gorou of Suna come down to the arena for their match?"

"Hai!" came the overly enthusiastic response from the blond bundle of energy that Akatsuchi's cousin was so eager to kill and a sigh beside him caused him to glance at one of the Suna twins.

He hoped that kid had his wits about him. If this twin was as good as his brother – and his brother had to be good to pull the wool over Kurotsuchi's eyes – then the blond would need all the help he could get. And if the blond let himself get killed by anyone other than Kurotsuchi, Kurotsuchi would never let Akatsuchi live in peace.

ooOoo

Naruto's excitement was infectious. Or at least, that's how it seemed. The crowd was not excited because Naruto was excited, though. They were excited because it was Naruto. The kid looked so much like the yellow flash – even his clothes!

The ANBU in the kage box had all frozen as the kid practically flew into the arena and began waving energetically at the proctor.

"Hello, Yashamaru-san!" the blonde's voice seemed to echo across the stadium and a tense silence followed. And that was when the six year old ninja took in the atmosphere of the audience. "Hello, everyone!"

The Daimyos were hard pressed to keep the smiles from their faces and the assembled ninja for the most part could not stop their lips from twitching in amusement.

"Hello Naruto!" came the overly enthusiastic response from a red haired insomniac in the front row – he seemed out of breath for some reason.

"Hey, Gaara!"

"Good lu –" the red head was dragged back by a white haired man that, many had to rub their eyes to confirm, was the toad sennin, teacher of the Yondaime Hokage, and, most importantly, writer of the Icha Icha series.

"Hey, Ero-sennin, you don't have to do that!"

"Stop calling me that! Ow! What the heck?"

"Good luck, Naruto!"

Gaara had bitten the hand of the sennin in order to get the old man to let go. The audience was nearly shaking from laughter – except the ninja, for though the display was immensely amusing, they could not shake the feeling of danger.

"Are you done yet?"

Naruto tuned to face Gorou, the guy that either played with dolls, clothes, or wielded wind like he did. The people of Suna were so strange. Except Gaara, Yashamaru-san, and Temari-nee.

"Hai!"

Yashamaru glanced at the two that seemed determined and yet comfortable – as if they were going to do something no more dangerous than a friendly spar. He hoped Gorou could hold his own – the kid was a jinchuuriki like Gaara, and Yashamaru knew what Gaara was capable of doing. This kid had more training than Gaara, though, and the strongest biju.

"Hajime."

ooOoo

Naruto stared at Gorou, his face childlike and expectant, and Gorou knew that the kid could be really childlike – innocent even – but he also knew that the kid had skills.

The expectant face kept staring at him, until after a few minutes, Naruto said "yes?" as if waiting for _him_ to make the first move.

"You want something to happen, you move." Gorou said lazily.

"But where's the fun in that?" the blond complained as he twirled a kunai in his small hands before bringing his hand in a cross position, it was a strange seal.

Gorou couldn't hear exactly what the kid said, but the next second a cloud of smoke enveloped the sandy arena and Gorou had a hard time seeing anything, in fact Naruto was probably the only one that could make heads or tails of anything. And even then, he only stood smiling innocently as ten clones of himself appeared and the dust cleared away with a little help from the blond – the air was much too still with the wind from Suna being kept out by the tent and stands.

It was way too stuffy in that tent, with all the people close together, the sun beating down on the tent and making it a perpetual oven, and with the only breeze coming from a six year old.

Naruto, who had not been quite as perceptive to the mood in the crowd, was nevertheless feeling uncomfortable. He had sand in places he didn't know he _could_ have sand! And it wasn't even something he felt comfortable having Gaara fix either . . .

Although these exams had been fun – in some strange and twisted way – he wanted to go back to Konoha so that he could get all this chafing sand off and move freely. And maybe Gaara would join them and they could both teach Kurama and Shukaku that there was more to life than just being used.

"Are you just going to stand there and smile all day?" Gorou asked as he took out a bolt of chakra charged cloth.

Naruto just smiled back before he threw some Hiraishin kunai for coverage, and each of his clones pulled a regular kunai across their faces defensively. The smirk on Gorou's face was insufferable and when at last the bolts of cloth flew at him, the blond and all his clones dodged. Some flipped back, others jumped, and the real Naruto hid amongst them all – leaving all clueless as to which Naruto was the real Naruto.

Gorou growled as they all dodged. His cloth ripped – his command of course – and went after all eleven Narutos that upon getting caught, all popped except, there was no Naruto left.

Gorou stood there, tense as he looked around. He wasn't behind him, he wasn't in front, not above, or to the left or right. So could he possibly be under? That was the only explanation. But, damn, how'd he get away?

Gorou jumped, startled and with his heart in his throat as the little blond jumped up from right underneath him and aimed a kick to his gut.

Gorou caught the leg, but the other leg came around toward Gorou's head, a fist flying underneath the blond body that was now twisted in so many ways, he looked like a rope, a very short rope, but a rope nonetheless. Gorou had run out of hands, and the fist met with the first hand that let the foot free and hit Gorou's foot with a vengeance.

"Crap!" Gorou hopped away from the blond quickly, flexing his foot and making sure that no bones had been dislocated or broken. There was a bit of pain, but it was mostly in the muscles, not the bones.

"Annoying little bugger aren't you?" Gorou grabbed six kunai, keeping one hidden in the other hand and threw them, causing the blonde's smiling face to drop into a blank wide eyed expression and jump up into the air. It was strange. The kid hadn't even crouched for the jump.

But that was what Gorou had wanted, and so he threw the last kunai at the blond. It wasn't very nice, and as soon as Gorou let the kunai fly, he regretted it. He could seriously hurt this kid!

The crowd was silent, and time seemed to slow, as the kid brought his hands into the cross sign, created a clone right next to him in midair that promptly grabbed the kid and threw him straight at Gorou, and past the kunai, who brought his cloth up to shield himself.

The kid might have gotten tangled in the cloth if he hadn't brought his hand forward and remembered all the training with ero-sennin. He concentrated on the spinning and the power – that he hadn't quite mastered, but used the cloth instead of the water to substitute the water from the water balloon and the air of the rubber ball. And before everyone's eyes the cloth was ripped to shreds, as if it were nothing more than lace. Naruto's fist, no longer with the spinning vortex of doom, met Gorou's stomach and the only sound any could hear was their own heart beat.

Gorou couldn't breathe from the impact for a few seconds, and was paralyzed by the surprise – and then when he was finally able to get his body to respond, it was too late. They were being propelled backward and they rolled on the ground again and again until the blond reached around Gorou, got on his back and pushed the Suna-nin face-first into the sand.

The taste of sand and sweat filled Gorou's mouth for a moment before he registered the cool metal of a kunai at the back of his neck.

"Uzumaki Naruto wins this match. That's it with the first round of matches. The next round will continue momentarily."

ooOoo

Gorou was glaring at Katsue and Shirou as he returned to the waiting room.

"The kid was good," he grumbled, "I wasn't expecting him to come flying at me like that. He just –"

Katsue burst into giggles and doubled over as Shirou pat her back, a smirk on his face.

"Who'd have thought? Katsue's going further than us."

The laughter issuing from Katsue's lips stopped abruptly, and she assumed a serious expression.

"It was pure luck. Shirou shouldn't have lost, and I only won because I poisoned my opponent."

Shirou looked down at Katsue and smiled softly, "yeah, but you still won. In a real-life situation, you would have made it out alive and that girl wouldn't have. Don't go downplaying your work all the time."

Katsue offered them both a weak smile before looking down to the stadium.

"She'll be fine." Gorou muttered to his younger twin who simply nodded and turned back to the proctor as he began to announce the beginning of the second round.

ooOoo

"The second round will begin now," Yashamaru announced as he received the signal from his brother-in-law. The Kage booth seemed more tense then previous exams, and he didn't want to rush things and miss signs of attack. "Would Kurotsuchi of Iwa and Inuzuka Hana please come down to the arena," Yashamaru announced consulting his clipboard as one of the Iwa ANBU moved slightly. Yashamaru squinted as he tried to get a better look, and saw the ANBU sign some orders through the unique special Iwa sign language.

He knew just enough of it to catch two words – hidden and cliffs. Yashamaru frowned but turned away from the kage booth, discreetly signing to his kage, in Suna's style the same two words.

War seemed imminent today.

ooOoo

Hana and the Haimaru brothers stood stiffly across from the deranged Iwa-nin. The girl was glaring at her and seemed more deadly than one of Naruto's explosive seals. She seemed like a volcano ready to erupt. Hana just hoped that she wasn't on the receiving end.

Kurotsuchi's expression was fierce and that stopped Yashamaru from announcing the go-ahead right away. He eyed her for a moment, slightly disturbed, because she seemed more unhinged than Gaara had ever been, and not quite sure if he should release the Konoha-nin to her wrath. Then again, she hadn't really won the last match in the eyes of the audience, regardless of the technicalities.

So, he did the only thing he was allowed to; he didn't want to insult the Konoha-nin and the unhinged Iwa-nin was not likely to bring her hostilities to complete fruition before the real fighting started.

"Hajime."

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi quickly surged forward to engage the bitch in taijutsu, because taijutsu got Kurotsuchi close enough to danger, and she needed the adrenaline. Her quick attack caught the dogs by surprise, and for a moment they just stood in the sidelines.

Until they began moving, they were harmless, and that was good. But once they began moving to defend the Inuzuka, they moved quickly, stirring up the sand which, in the dense tent atmosphere settled just as quickly and didn't aid, but they had to do something and Hana was just too close to the enemy at the moment.

But it gave her an idea. In the midst of flying limbs, and pulled punches, on Hana's part, she reached into her pouch and pulled out a smoke bomb that she usually never used..

And then no one could see anything, not even Hana. The lack of sight succeeded in distracting the psycho long enough for Hana to land a punch on Kurotsuchi's face and back away contemplating another line of attack.

Kurotsuchi was having no such thoughts – her strategy was simple: get to one of the dogs, or the bitch herself, through any means necessary, and cut off the head. Kurotsuchi ran around in the cloud hoping for an opening and instead found herself clutching one of the Haimaru brothers, a kunai on his furry neck.

His whimper caught Hana's attention, and she paused, listening to his words - that he seemed barely able to whimper out and Hana froze before rushing forward to the sound of her ninken.

Kurotsuchi was finding it hard to keep the dog still. Her kunai was at his neck, but he was built of pure muscle, and there was a lot of fur to cut through before it made it to his neck.

And Hana was upon her; Kurotsuchi found herself with a struggling ninken and grabbed a kunai, nearly releasing the dog, flinging it at the shadow of her opponent and tightened her grip on both kunai and ninken.

A grunt of surprise and pain met Kurotsuchi's ears and she smirked before releasing the dog and flashing through some handsigns and as Hana pulled the kunai that had been embedded in her leg out, she found her legs and arms stuck.

She was trapped in limestone.

"I forfeit!" Hana gasped out, loud enough for the referee to hear.

ooOoo

Yashamaru had been worried when the smoke bomb had exploded and upon hearing the forfeit had quickly called out, "Kurotsuchi of Iwa wins this match. We will begin the next match momentarily.

He looked up as Baki jumped down, and nodded to him.

"Would you be so kind?" Yashamaru asked with a raised eyebrow to which Baki nodded quickly and blew the smoke away with a well placed wind jutsu.

As the smoke cleared, many in the stands caught their breaths, especially Kiba and Tsume who had been worried the moment they lost sight of the other Inuzuka.

Hana was standing in limestone, her hands and feet trapped, with blood trickling down her leg from a kunai and her face looking pained.

Yashamaru turned to the winner who stood there smirking, but with a bruise forming on her left cheek. "Would you cancel the jutsu so that we may continue with the next match?" He said it patronizingly, and she scowled at him before turning and walking off to the waiting area. Even so, the quicklime had cracked open and Hana was able to get out, quickly bringing her hands to her leg and healing it before she walked off, a slight limp in her step.

"The next match will be between Haruno Ichirou and Katsue of Suna; if they would come down, we may continue."

ooOoo

As the next contestants made their way down, Kiba ignored Saukra's smug expression. He had been worried when he saw the blood on his sister, but as soon as he saw that she'd be fine, that she didn't even need to see the medics, he didn't want to listen to Sakura's smugness at having won half the bet.

He really hoped her brother lost, then he'd only have to carry one bag rather than two.

ooOoo

Naruto had given Ichrou a half-hearted thumbs up when Hana had come back.

"I'm glad you're okay, Hana-nee," he muttered as she settled down next to him and called the Haimaru brothers to her side.

"If you meet her in the final battle, give her hell, would you."

He smiled softly, and nodded.

"You should pay attention to Ichirou's match. He'd appreciate it," she mentioned as she began to look over the Haimaru brother that had been caught by the psycho Iwa chick and Naruto seemed cheered.

"Yeah, he'd say that he'd gone through all that annoying stuff and if I couldn't even pay attention, why had he even bothered!"

Hana laughed lightly as she massaged their muscles and the proctor had announced the beginning of the match.

ooOoo

Ichirou stared at the girl - the puppet girl - and really hoped that he was facing the real one. It would be beyond annoying if it wasn't. It would be insufferable.

"Are you the real one or the puppet?" he asked as he pulled out his blade, his red hair nearly getting cut off by the sharpness of the blade.

Katsue - or the puppet, whichever it was - gave a mock bow and said, "Why don't you find out."

Ichirou brought his sword up defensively, "That's too annoying." He thought of his inventory of genjutsu and spared her a calculating expression. She probably wouldn't be too bothered by sand, especially since they were in her territory. Spiders? But that was cruel . . . Should he just engage in sword combat? But, she'd beat that Kumo-nin in that and there was no use getting tired if this was just a puppet.

As he stood contemplating which genjustu he should use, he missed the sneaking of a needle - senbon? - that was being pushed toward him by a nearly invisible chakra string. It didn't help that they were standing on the leftover quicklime that was hardened to limestone.

And so Ichirou reminded completely oblivious to the fact that he was about to be poisoned until he was. It was just a pinprick, but then he felt himself not being able to send chakra to his feet, and when he looked down and saw the senbon connected to his green toe, he cursed and forfeited.

It was too annoying anyway.

ooOoo

The Raikage and Tsuchikage were ecstatic. It seemed as if in this round, the Konoha-nin were getting obliterated. There was at least one of theirs set for the final round, and if the next battle was won by Kumo, it would be a fight between Kumo, Iwa, and Suna.

And really, the child may be a genius, but he couldn't possible hope to defeat a much older nin of whom he had no information.

"Good match." Sarutobi mentioned in the quiet box as the Kazekage nodded.

"She's been training for this for a while," he replied after a moment.

"The other two did well as well, particularly the first one. He would have won if he hadn't given up."

"Yes, but he's always been more content to wait. He and his brother waited patiently for their teammate to be ready for these exams."

And then the tense silence descended back onto their box, Onoki and A exchanging quick glances.

ooOoo

Kiba was smirking at her, and Sakura quickly decided that the bet didn't mean anything. they both lost and they both won.

She glanced at him with a frown. "I carry your pack, you carry mine?"

He stared at her for a while. "Sure."

ooOoo

Naruto was frowning. He wasn't frowning because Ichirou had lost, he would probably say that his frowning was annoying anyway, he was frowning because he didn't know what that Kumo-nin, the one with blond hair and a big chest, was going to do.

Was she going to bring out a sword like her teamates? Cause from what that red haired chick - Karui, he thought her name was - had displayed they were pretty good. In fact they were so good, it scared Naruto a bit.

And then the forbidding words came out of Yashamaru's mouth.

"The next match will be between Samui of Kumo and Uzumaki Naruto."

His doom had arrived, but there was nothing to it. He had to face this like another Kurama refusing to let go of hate - with a smile on his face and confidence that he'd succeed . . . eventually.

"Hey, Hana-nee . . ."

"Yes, Naruto, what is it?" she asked still concentrating on her ninken.

"Hold this for me, would you . . . just in case?" he hadn't turned from watching the arena, but he held out a Hiraishin kunai and she took it carefully.

"Sure."

He nodded before turning to the stairs.

ooOoo

"Hello again, Yashamaru-san!"

Samui regarded the smaller blond with not a small amount of curiosity. He didn't seem serious enough to be a shinobi. But he had done well in his last match. The same could not be said for her, she hadn't even really competed. It was all really not cool.

"Hello, Naruto," Yashamaru nodded to the blond, "Hajime."

And then, suddenly Samui couldn't contemplate the doings of the blond. She quickly had to grab her tanto and bring it across a clone that had sprung out of nowhere. One second, there was hot dense air in front of her making her hair stick to her forehead and the back of her neck, the next a clone was in front of her.

And it was corporeal, she learned, as he brought his own tantou around to meet hers.

"Not cool." she muttered as he pulled back frowning at her.

And suddenly she was parrying the strokes of ten little blonds that were easily running around her. She stuck her tantou into nine of them and then turned to stare at the last - hoping that another would not pop up out of mid air, but prepared for the outcome regardless.

Naruto frowned though and made no movement for a moment before he ran at her, managed to slap her shoulder - she'd been focused on his other hand, the one with the tanto - and pulled back again, a grin on his face before he threw a bunch of kunai widely that missed her completely.

And then all she saw was yellow, slight flashes of metal, and blue.

She was able to keep up for five seconds, and then she felt the cold iron on the back of her neck and heard the call for the end of the match.

ooOoo

"Uzumaki Naruto is the winner of this match. This concludes the second round. The third and final round will consist of a three way match between Kurotsuchi of Iwa, Katsue of Suna, and Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha. We will begin momentarily," and then Yashamaru had turned away from the two and turned to look up at the furious expressions of two of the kage.

They weren't furious in a way that a civilian would notice, they were simply slightly glaring.

The audience was quiet as the little blond was declared winner. And though the Fire Daimyo was glad that the child had won - he was also relieved. And unnerved.

The child was just that - a child. Yet he had mastered an S-Rank jutsu that had not been seen used so effectively since the Yondaime Hokage, since the Kyubi had been sealed, since the last war. And the child had just used it in the middle of an exam with no more fanfare than a simple fire jutsu.

He was brilliant. But the hostile looks on the Daimyos of Tsuchi no Kuni and Kaminari no Kuni were _almost_ not worth it.

ooOoo

The quicklime was still in the arena, Kurotsuchi noticed with a smile on her face. And She was going to get to face off with the little terror again.

It was simply wonderful. She was smiling and Deidara was glaring at her, but it was okay. She was going to get revenge.

"You know it's two against one, right Kurostuchi?"

She blinked and turned to her blond teammate and surrogate nii-san before harrumphing and walking out into the arena.

ooOoo

Katsue was in the arena, waiting for the proctor to announce the beginning of the first and last match of the third and final round. But as the Iwa-nin made her appearance and sneered at both Katsue and the six year old, she wished that time had taken longer to pass.

Naruto sidled up to Katsue and whispered, "I watch your back, you watch mine? She's kind of a psycho."

Katsue snorted but didn't remove her eyes from the Iwa-nin, "kind of?"

The blond beside her grinned and nodded, making an affirmative sound. "I'm not sure which one is more sane, her or her teammate - the one that explodes stuff."

"I think you and I will get along swimmingly." Katsue said with a smile.

"Hajime."

Their smiles dissapeared.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi quickly flung kunai at them, growling when they were blocked before rushing at them both and throwing kicks and punches - her body as treacherous as a hurricane.

But, that was fine - they had an Uzumaki that matched her blows and kept her away from the puppet master.

Katsue, who wasn't one to be content to let a six year old do all the work, quickly brought her puppet around and swung it toward the two battling shinobi, knives trained on the Iwa-nin. But the psycho spared her and her puppet barely a glance before she sent that same jutsu that was used on Shirou, only this time it worked.

Pain, beyond any pain she'd felt, seared on all her exposed flesh. She felt raw and she couldn't move - not that she wanted to. Sh felt like her skin was being ripped away. She wanted to curl up into a ball,and cry out in the pain.

Who was screaming? It was giving her a headache. Was it her? The scream seemed to be coming from her mouth . . .

She didn't care anymore. She just wanted the pain to go away.

ooOoo

Yashamaru was staring in horror as he saw Katsue get covered in the quicklime. And then her screams pierced through the tent and he saw Kurotsuchi leap forward toward her, a kunai in hand.

It was obvious that Katsue couldn't continue fighting.

"Katsue of Suna is no longer able to - " but it seemed he was too late. Kurotsuchi was too close, she was going to stick the kunai into Katsue's throat.

And then there was a yellow flash of light, and Naruto was gone; but there he was beside Katsue. Another flash of light; they disappeared from the arena; Katsue's screams cut off for a moment before they reappeared in the direction of the waiting area for the contestants, and then Naruto was back in place.

His face was set in a frown as he eyed his opponent with cautiousness.

Yashamaru cleared his throat, "Katsue of Suna is no longer bale to battle. Would the medics see to her in the waiting area?"

ooOoo

Naruto felt something strange. He felt as if he was being boiled alive. He felt powerful. He felt angry.

"Kurama," he whispered, "please don't hurt any of my friends." He heard, in the back of his head, a deep malicious chuckle, "They're all I have now. They're all _we_ have."

The chuckling faded, and Naruto felt the anger leave, though not all the power disappeared. It seemed that Kurama had left some.

And with that thought, Naruto smiled softly before his eyes hardened and he turned to look at Kurotsuchi.

ooOoo

From the moment she'd seen the yellow flash she'd frozen. There was something . . . evil in that chakra. She'd never felt anything like it. But the kid seemed to shake it off a moment later, and she had to remind herself that it had really gone when she looked into those ice cold blue eyes of his under the blue hitai-ate.

His hands were clenched, and he didn't wince as some of the sand there dug into his muscles and scratched him. Yes, he was uncomfortable, but he'd be damned if he let her see it.

Kurotsuchi however, was having a hard time not screaming in frustration. She was sweating buckets from the dense air of the tent, and sand was sticking to her face as well as her hair now. She wanted the sand gone. She wanted to be clean. And she wanted that kid dead. Was that so much to ask?

ooOoo

Naruto had not taken his eyes off of her. It had been a five minute stare contest and the crowd was starting to shift in their seats.

She seemed to be getting her bearings and he tilted his head - the movement causing the audience to lean forward in their seats in anticipation, but no, he wasn't aiming to attack just yet.

Was it possible that she'd used too much chakra? He was feeling slight effects of chakra usage, but for the most part he was feeling fine - but wasn't that because of Kurama? He gave a small smile before jumping forward, and saw her catch her breath. Yes, she was getting tired, even if she refused to admit it.

He landed a punch, and sent the seal for Hiraishin straight to her chest. She didn't seem to notice, but that seemed to not matter. There would not be anything she would be able to do even if she had.

One more yellow flash blinded her; she had a kunai pressed to her neck.

"Uzumaki Naruto wins this round and the tournament. Tomorrow the list of the promoted chuunin will go out. Thank you for your time."

Kurotsuchi could be heard cursing by the teams out in the desert making their way to Suna. It was four o'clock in the evening.

ooOoo

The hotel air was stiff at eight thirty in the evening, but that did not seem to bother the Konoha-nin. In fact they seemed to disregard the atmosphere, which was easier than it had been that afternoon since the sun had set long before.

Kakashi, Genma, Asuma, Raido, and Gai were in a corner drinking sake - or in Kakashi's case, holding the cup and downing it all when no one was looking - as the six year olds were nodding off on the carpet.

Tsume was setting Kiba down - as all the six year olds had collapsed four hours before from the excitement, Naruto in particular seemed to need to rest - and Kiba had fallen asleep in her lap.

Itachi and Shisui were sitting by the window looking out, somewhat tense, but sipping tea, nonetheless while Jiraiya made himself comfortable with his notebook and ramen at the small oak table in another corner.

The Sand siblings, meanwhile, were sitting with their brother as he sat writing all that he could remember from his lessons - he didn't seem capable of tiring, but he seemed beyond happy that his siblings were willing to keep him company.

Though, really they hadn't had much of a choice. Their father and uncle were in a meeting with the Hokage. The Tsuchikage and Raikage seemed to want to have their own meeting to discuss their chuunin hopefuls alone. They all seemed quite serious about it all too.

And so they'd been told to spend some time with their brother who insisted on going to the celebration party for his friend which ended up with tired six-year olds.

But, Temari was nice about it. She would correct something if he wrote it incorrectly. He seemed to have trouble with the kanji for love - at least until she guided his hand on the paper. Then he wouldn't stop writing it all over the paper.

Sakura had woken up about four hours after she had fallen asleep on the rug of the hotel room lobby where everyone was and when she got up, she went in search of her nii-san - finding him with his teammate, Kiba's sister.

"Nii-san, you did great," she mumbled as she climbed on his lap and he looked down at her curiously.

"It was annoying, but I should have expected the poison from a girl who never got over playing with her dolls."

Hana smothered a bought of laughter and smiled at Sakura who gave her a wide smile in return."

"Are you feeling better, Inuzuka-san?

"Please, call me Hana-san, and I'm feeling better, thank you."

Sakura smiled widely and snuggled into her brother's chest. "Nii-san, do you think I will be able to be a great ninja like you?"

Ichirou looked down at her and she swore she saw his mouth twitch, "Sure. You can become a medic like Hana-san."

"A medic?" Sakura seemed scandalized at the notion.

"Yeah, they're an important part of any team."

Sakura frowned at him, "But there are no great medic-nin!"

"There's Tsunade-sama, the granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage. She was the greatest medic-nin of all - and she was one of the sennin." Hana said as she poked Sakura's stomach.

"Tsunade-sama?" Sakura seemed to ponder this and then frowned. "I'll think about it."

ooOoo

Gorou and Shirou stood beside the hospital bed where Katsue lay, her body bandaged in the places that her clothes had failed to save her and had taken the brunt of that jutsu.

"It's a good thing you lost to that blond, Gorou. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't be alive. That psycho was ready to kill," Shirou muttered as he pushed a strand of Katsue's hair aside.

Gorou nodded and turned back to the cooling city.

It was strange. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, you could see the moon and stars perfectly with all the lights of the city off, and yet, something felt wrong. The air was still, which was strange as there was always wind in Suna.

"Something's going to happen tonight." Gorou muttered as he stood by the window and watched the silent city.

Shirou grunted but sat by Katsue.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi stared at her grandfather as he berated her for her conduct and performance without taking in a single word. She wanted them dead. She wanted them all dead.

"Kurotsuchi, are you listening to me?"

Deidara, who was lounging on his bed, looked over to Onoki-sama and smirked, "She's too far gone. She wants to make art un."

Onoki stared at him for a moment before one of his ANBU bodyguards entered through the window.

"Tsuchikage-sama, the teams have arrived."

Kurotsuchi's head shot up at those words and a smile slowly grew. It was a maniacal smile that Deidara-nii mirrored, and though Akatsuchi was slightly disturbed by it, he stood and seemed ready to follow them.

Onoki nodded to the ANBU before he gave him the order to go tell the Raikage and the teams.

"The invasion starts in an hour."

ooOoo

The hour passed quickly and the moon rose, casting new shadows on the village hidden in the sand. The sentries were all on high alert and Akane, new to the sentry job, was walking along the wall a little less cautiously than one of the seasoned veterans of the last war might.

He almost missed the shadows dancing in the sand and moonlight, he raised his communicator too slowly, and didn't notice the ANBU behind him until he felt the cold metal of a tanto on his neck; until it was too late.

And then he couldn't feel anything anymore.

ooOoo

They were coming from the cliffs, and Maki remembered the warning that Konoha had brought with them. It was a good thing most of the Daimyous had left as soon as the exams had ended. The chunin promotions were always more private - only within the villages.

Maki walked the outer wall again and paused. She should have seen another guard by now.

"Akane, do you copy?" she said softy into her communicator; static was her only answer.

And then a shadow was over her, from behind, and Maki ran forward, toward the button on the wall that would sound the alarm and alert the village to an invasion. The shadow was getting closer, and as soon as she hit the alarm, she turned around and met the tantou of the Iwa-ANBU with a kunai and pushed back quickly.

Red lights flashed, and a siren sounded in the village, waking all.

ooOoo

Kakashi didn't jump when the red lights flashed, but Naruto did, and he stepped on Sasuke who growled in protest aiming a punch at the blond that landed on Kiba who attempted to bite his hand but ended up hitting his chin on Lee's head who promptly woke up and started looking around at the others.

Genma nearly choked on his sake, and Raido pat his back to get him back to breathing, while Asuma lit another cigarette and Jiraiya downed the last of his ramen.

"Looks like it's starting," Shisui muttered.

"Annoying."

Kakashi stood and looked at the younger kids - the ones that weren't shinobi.

"Stay here, and if anything happens, Ichirou and Hana will help you." he turned to Hana and Ichirou, "This is an S-Rank mission. You two are in charge."

"Shisui, Itachi you two are with Genma and Raido. Gai, Asuma, Tsume you three are with me."

"I'm staying with the younger ones."

"Tsume . . ." her glare gave him no room for argument.

Genma meanwhile had taken Gaara and Naruto.

"You're both small, you can get places unnoticed. You have to get a spy into their ranks. Gaara, stick with him, you need to watch each other's backs."

The two nodded before they rushed out the window.

"What about us?" Temari, Kankuro, and Lee asked just as the four jonin were about to leave.

Gai quickly took his arm, "You're with me, Lee," and Lee smiled brightly.

"Find your Daimyou, and the Fire Daimyou and take them to a safe place. If you can show the others where your evacuation centers are, that would be great."

And then they were gone too and Hinata worried. For some reason her nightmares were coming back to her. Darkness, red, danger . . . she began to take deeper breaths to calm down and swallowed the bile that almost came spewing from her mouth before turning back to the Sand Siblings hoping that Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun would make it out alive.

ooOoo

Gaara was leading Naruto to the hotel where Iwa and Kumo slept.

"They're probably not going to be there." Naruto whispered as they made their way down another alley.

"Maybe, but we can make sure."

They stopped abruptly at the sound of someone grunting in pain and exchanged glances.

"Let's go check it out."

Gaara nodded, and as the two tiptoed closer, they saw the sensei of the Kumo team, the Kumo team, some other blond lady, and the Iwa team.

Naruto pulled Gaara back as they stood around the corner listening.

"Look, I want to go after the brat!" the crazy psycho could be heard - though there was some pain in her voice.

"You've had your chance. Twice, now, I believe. You and your team are going to the outer wall to see if you can disable the guards and help get our men into the village. And see if you can get that damn alarm to shut off, it's hurting my ears."

It was an unknown voice, so Naruto assumed it was the new blond woman before he created eight clones, making them as silently as possible, and had them henge into fleas before they hopped away toward the foreign-nin even as the younger ones left leaving only the sensei of the Kumo team and the unknown female.

Naruto nodded to Gaara before mouthing, "Mission complete. Let's get out of here."

And as they tiptoed away, the moon caught them, and their shadows became long. The conversation between the two on the other side of the corner stopped. They'd been seen.

ooOoo

The village filled with sound. It wasn't quiet anymore. There was wind - lots of wind and red lights that were sounding the alarm in every corner of the dark village. And Hinata was following the sand siblings that were taking them through places they would have never seen if they hadn't lived there. They were dodging areas where Suna and Konoha-nin fought side by side against the Iwa and Kumo force that had somehow gotten into the village.

Hianta was finding it hard to keep up, with citizens going in the same direction. The alleys were too crowded, Hinata needed to get out!

And she did, even as she saw Sasuke sneak away - to find his brother? - she nearly ran toward him, but a Kumo-nin got in her way and she had to dodge as she made her way back to the alleys, turning on her byakugan.

She didn't like being lost, so as soon as she found Naruto's chakra signature - along with those of two other nin and Gaara, she made her way to Naruto; she was reminded again of her nightmare. Only this wasn't a nightmare. It was real. And there would be no waking up from it.

ooOoo

Sasuke didn't want to miss this. It was hardly fair that Naruto was in the thick of the action - so he'd gone in search of Itachi-nii-san and Shisui-san.

He moved through the fighting shinobi with ease; though he found himself having a very hard time making it to his brother - whom he could see not too far away. Shisui-san had made a very nice swipe, but Sasuke seemed to far away to get to either of them, and he really wanted to help.

He dodged in between the feet of the others and reached for his brother, wanting to help and make some difference. But no one seemed to see him. It was as if he was insignificant.

He caught Itachi's eye and for a moment he saw surprise and disapproval before his brother turned back to his fight and succeeded in decapitating his opponent.

And for a moment, Sasuke caught the opponents eyes in the few moments before the unattached head became unresponsive. He saw surprise, pain, and fear. and for a fleeting moment he imagined himself as the one getting his head chopped off. He found it strangely difficult to breathe, move, or close his eyes from the horror of it all.

And then Itachi was hugging him.

"It's hard, I know, but you have to get over it, just for a while. You can mourn the loss of life later. You need to stay alive now. You need to remember everything we worked on."

Sasuke gave a shaky nod before taking the kunai his brother handed him as they hurried to another part of the village.

"Where are Genma-sensei and Raido-san?" Sasuke asked as they hurried away.

"We lost sight of them a while ago," Shisui answered without looking back.

ooOoo

They'd lost Hinata and Sasuke somewhere along the way as well as the Sand Siblings when Tsume decided to stop. The crowd of civilians had thinned into nonexistence. They seemed well-practiced in evacuating, probably from the years of war that had not been gone very long.

Tsume seemed reluctant to move forward anymore. She seemed to expect something - probably because Kuromaru was uneasy; the Haimaru brothers had picked it up too.

They didn't stay there long. But it seemed enough. The Iwa team was right there at the end of the alley and though the psycho did not seem all to eager, the blond was, simply because Ichirou was there.

"Kiba, Sakura, stay back. You too Hana. You're the medic," Tsume ordered as she got into a defensive position.

"Gatsuga." five tornadoes launched toward the three Iwa-nin and they all hit the same target. Akatsuchi grunted slightly but stood his ground.

Kurotsuchi caught sight of the pink hair and growled. She was just as old as the little demon. She was going to destroy all of these Konoha-nin, and if she couldn't get at the blond right away, she was going to start with this pink haired one.

She leaped forward, kunai in hand as she dodged the dogs that seemed fixed on the opening of the alley.

She aimed for the little girl and met a katana; meeting the eye of the redhead, she very nearly doubled back in shock. Hatred bubbled in his eyes and for once in her life, Kurostuchi feared for her life.

It was strange, he seemed furious, as if he was going to break her for daring to go in that direction.

"Don't even think about it," he whispered maliciously as she backed away.

"Hey, that guy's mine!" Deidara complained as he made his way past the tornadoes attacking Akatsuchi and had something in his hand.

Ichirou quickly grabbed Hana, Sakura, and Kiba and covered them - just in time too, for there was an explosion, splinters of rocks fell on his back, but at least they were safe. larger boulders shut them off from their attackers and Tsume-san; so he could rest for a bit.

He heard something - or someone? - call his name, but he couldn't find it in himself to answer. He felt like just laying there and not moving. And so, that's what he did.

ooOoo

Sakura was panicking as she watched Hana-san work on her brother, her hands glowing a strange green. It was her fault for being here! If she wasn't here then he wouldn't have needed to shield her.

"He's not going to make it," Hana whispered and Sakura was sure that she wasn't meant to hear.

"What?"

Hana looked up at her, resigned and sorrowful,"I'm no Tsunade. I can't heal this."

A sinking feeling in her chest caused her to lose her breath, and she could vaguely feel her body shaking and Kiba's hand on her back. Why couldn't there be another Tsunade? One who would save her brother and fix this whole mess . . . would be her hero forever. She just wanted to keep her brother.

"We need to go," Hana said holding back her own tears as she pulled her teammate to her back. He was still alive. She wasn't going to leave him.

ooOoo

As soon as the red flights had flashed in the white hospital room, Gorou and Shirou had sprung into action and headed toward the outer walls and found Maki-san fending off an attacker.

"Maki-san!"

"Couldn't have waited for us, could you!" Gorou teased as he and his brother each fell beside her in ready positions.

"Took you long enough."

"It's a full-out invasion." Gorou whispered in disbelief as he saw all the shinobi on the other side of the wall trying to find their way past the guard. There were kunai flying across the moonlit sand dunes and a good number of them made it over the wall.

"Yeah, Akane was down and that's how I noticed."

"Oh, you pulled the alarm? Good for you."

"Akane's dead I saw his body a while back." Silence fell at that statement, but they continued to fight as they digested the news, blocking kunai coming their way and - in the midst of all the chaos Shirou missed his brother fall and only noticed when he nearly tripped on his brother's body. A kunai was deep in his side. He'd been fighting another Iwa, or Kumo-nin - it was hard to tell by now, everyone looked the same, and had just managed to bring him down when he missed the kunai coming his way from the sand.

Shirou paused on the wall, and some more shinobi were able to make it past before Maki's voice brought him back to reality. Her voice was soft but stern and he welcomed the familiarity. He didn't know how he'd make it in a world without his younger twin.

"You're not going to be of any help in that state. Take him to the hospital. I believe you two were just there. They might be able to help him."

And as he was leaving, he saw a sight that gave him hope.

A giant Toad was before him, fighting in the midst of it all.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The Man He Killed

"Had he and I but met

By some old ancient inn,

We should have sat us down to wet

Right many a nipperkin!

"But ranged as infantry

And staring face to face,

I shot at him as he at me,

And Killed him in his place.

"I shot him dead because-

Because he was my foe.

Just so: my foe of course he was;

That's clear enough; although

"He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,

Off-hand like-just as I-

Was out of work-had sold his traps-

No other reason why.

"Yes; quaint and curious war is!

You shoot a fellow down

You'd treat if met where any bar is,

Or help to half a crown."

-Thomas Hardy, 1902

ooOoo

The Hokage and Kazekage sat in the Kazekage Tower discussing which genin they would be promoting.

"Yondaime Hokage-dono's son is a definite shoe-in, then?

"Yes, and I think I'll promote the other two as well. And you?"

A moment of silence where the Kazekage eyed his notes ensued before he nodded.

"I know Gorou and Shirou are good fighters, even if Gorou failed to show it against that blond of yours."

The Hokage chuckled, "yes, Naruto certainly is extraordinary. If you know Gorou's abilities, feel free."

The two kage had been having a wonderful meeting over sake discussing the chuunin promotions. It had been since Gaara had happily - happily! - waltzed into the Kazekage's office and told him that he and his siblings would join the celebration party for his friend.

It had been a wonderful, productive day.

The conversation between the two Kage had just wrapped up - with all the promoted chuunin decided when the red lights alerted the village silently of invasion. Chairs clattered to the ground as the two kage jumped up and rushed to the window - seeing only the small silhouettes of ninja jumping along the roofs.

Silently, the Kage watched, their faces, as hard as stone.

And then the next moment, the Tsuchikage and Raikage burst into the room, their ANBU and the Konoha and Suna ANBU keeping each other busy.

"Hokage-dono, Kazekage-dono, we declare the Fourth Great Shinobi War."

And then all hell broke loose.

ooOoo

"This is bad. This is really really bad." Gaara stood beside Naruto and really wasn't helping Naruto's morale.

Naruto knew they weren't supposed to get caught and that if he'd been on his own, he'd quickly be able to escape. But Gaara was still having trouble with walking on the walls and Naruto knew he couldn't just leave him there. What kind of a friend would he be if he did that?

"Okay. We'll be okay. We've got plenty of sand, and lots of walls . . . we'll be okay."

"What do we do?" Gaara whispered.

"Keep your sand ready Gaara. We're going to need it," Naruto replied as he slapped a bunch of seals onto the surrounding walls and waited apprehensively for the blond lady and the sensei to round the corner.

Which they did a moment later and raised their eyebrows at the two children.

ooOoo

Hinata was making her way toward Naruto-kun and was trembling slightly. The fear of her dream was consuming her and everywhere, where she saw Suna and Konoha nin fighting side by side, she had to remind herself that this was not her dream. Not yet. There was still the hate that was missing.

And for some strange reason she felt that she needed to reach Naruto before that came - just like the red lights and the darkness of the night.

She was so happy that Hanabi was safe at home and that Neji-nii-san was still at the academy and so was not allowed to come. She was happy that they were safe. She wouldn't have wanted them to see this.

But a weight on her heart was making it hard to breathe, even as she turned a corner about two long blocks away from Naruto. The weight seemed as heavy as iron and made it hard to stand upright. It was imaginary, yet just as real to her as the clothes on her back. She was frightened. She was scared for her parents, Naruto-kun, Gaara-kun, Sasuke-kun, Kiba-san, Tsume-san, Kakashi-nii and all the others, including those that she'd met only that day.

All around her, shinobi were running past her. They didn't seem to bother with a six year old like her.

Something horrible was going to happen. She knew it was. She just hoped that all those that she held dear would not become too damaged by it.

ooOoo

Team Samui had made it to the shinobi library and were in the process of destroying all the information Suna had on Kumo and Iwa.

"Omoi, what are you doing?"

"Burning it."

"We're not supposed to burn it, that could alert the Suna and Konoha-nin to what we're doing in here!"

"But, what if Konoha has all this on file, and all they have to do is look it up with the number, and then they get our fingerprints, and send ANBU assassins after us. Only, the ANBU ends up being a girl and ends up falling in love with Kirabi-sensei and in order to not betray her mission she becomes a suicide bomber! And then all of Kumo goes up in flames, all because we didn't want to light some flames here in Suna."

There was a moment of silence before Karui threw a scroll at Omoi's head and continued to rip the last of them up.

ooOoo

Sakura was looking at the limp body of her brother with disbelief, wonder, and horror. This was a dead body - or it soon would be. This was her brother. This was her nii-san, her protector, the one that always made her laugh when he came home. This was the brother that had told her with no enthusiasm about all of his C-Ranked missions, but with a smile tugging at his lips when she made some exclamation at how smart and strong he was. This was the brother that lovingly called her annoying.

And he was gone. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, she'd lost her nii-san.

He'd never sit her on his lap and tell her about that overactive teammate of his. He'd never call her annoying again. He'd never wake up again and shove her off when she jumped on his bed. She'd lost her nii-san. Her big brother had faded into the darkness of this cursed night. Ichirou had been consumed.

Sakura couldn't remember his smile, he rarely did it anyway, and that realization was terrifying. She moved mechanically as Kiba pulled her along, Hana-san keeping a quick pace. But she barely felt the hand tugging incessantly at her arm. She barely registered that she was moving one foot in front of the other.

She didn't take notice of her surroundings very much. What did it matter that they were all going to die? What did it matter that a new war was starting? What did it matter that she almost stepped on the dead face of a Kumo-nin? So much the better. She wanted to stomp back there and mangle that face up, but Kiba didn't let her go and the face faded, just like Ichirou, into the night.

She was annoying. But she'd never be reminded about that anymore by her brother.

She could feel the salty tears as they ran down her face, and taste them as they reached the corner of her mouth. The sand of this village was a different kind of saltiness and she accepted those tears like a man who had been without water for days- even though she could feel herself getting thirstier and thirstier.

Hana's words rang in Sakura's head over and over again. "I can't heal this . . . I'm no Tsunade . . . I can't heal this . . . I'm no Tsunade . . . I can't heal this . . . "

Well, then who could? Sakura felt like destroying something, anything. she couldn't stand this inactivity. She needed to do something! She just wanted her nii-san back! The whole world would perish and burn she wouldn't care. Her brother wasn't going to be waking up.

"I'm no Tsunade . . . I can't heal this. . . I'm no Tsunade . . . I can't heal this."

And those words, continuously repeating in Sakura's head changed voices and it was no longer Hana saying them, but Sakura. It was becoming a mantra. Never ending and hopeless. A cycle of despair that was turning and turning and making Sakura dizzy.

Why was she no Tsunade? What was stopping her? And in the whirlwind of her thoughts, one thought stood out - 'I will become like Tsunade.' Sakura allowed Kiba to continue pulling her along and realized that the red lights were slightly muted. She looked around and found herself in a building.

"Where are we?" she asked as she wiped the tears, but it didn't seem to make any obvious difference - the tears were coming down too quickly.

"The hospital." Kiba replied in a whisper and Sakura looked up in hope. Hana seemed to come from somewhere and Ichirou was no longer slung over her back.

"Where -"

"They can't do anything more for him. He's alive for now. You two have to stay here, I have to go back out there and fight.

"But Hana-nee!" Kiba protested. Was he worried about losing his sister just as she, Sakura seemed to have lost her brother?

It almost seemed as if Hana had to force out a smile before she could get the words out, "I'll be fine. Besides, I can't leave okaa-san and the Haimaru brothers to fend for themselves." There would be no convincing her to stay with them.

Kiba's shoulders slumped and he seemed defeated as his sister hurried out of the hospital. And Sakura leaned over toward him.

"Kiba, she'll be alright," her words felt empty; mechanical; without belief; but it succeeding in taking Kiba's mind off of the danger that Hana had just walked into.

ooOoo

The Hyuuga family jumped out of their rooms the moment the alarm started, and had activated their byakugan, hurrying towards the wave of enemy-nin invading the village.

Hiashi and Hizashi were greatly reminded of the last war and stuck to each other like glue.

"If anything happens to me, tell Neji and that I love him and am very proud of him."

Hiashi nodded, "Tell my family too, would you?"

"You don't need to worry about that. They'll be told every day."

And their lovely heart to heart was interrupted.

"Never fear! Youth is here!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei, let us show these enemy nin the power of youth!"

"Please, Gai, just stop." Asuma said as he came barreling in and cutting one of the hitai-ate of the Iwa-nin with his trench knives.

"Oh, let him have his fun, Asuma."

"Kakashi, I challenge you to a duel. Whoever has the most downs wins!"

"Gai, now's not the time to have a duel."

"But, it is, Kakashi! It is the perfect time to display our youth!"

"What was that you were saying about letting him have his fun, Kakashi?"

"Shut up, both of you and concentrate." Hiashi and Hizashi said at the same time.

ooOoo

Sasuke was still trying not to think about what it would be to have your head chopped off. Would you be aware that your head was no longer attached to the rest of your body? Would you be able to still feel the rest of your body, or would you just feel your head . . . And that brought up the fact that he could feel his hands and yet, if his head were no longer attached to his body . . .

Sasuke looked down at his hands before shaking his head roughly.

This thought process was going to make him sick. He could already feel chills going down his spine. It was a very strange and disconcerting feeling.

Sasuke turned to his brother who was heading toward the wall and had to bring himself to follow without turning his thought toward the headless nin again. He hadn't realized how hard it was to keep up with all the darkness. The air of Suna was sticky; it reminded Sasuke of the blood that has spewed from the neck of - no, he'd told himself not to think about it. Sasuke rubbed his neck to make sure it was still there and looked around, searching for his brother's familiar face. Itachi was fighting a - Kumo? - nin with another nin coming at his back. All this fighting; all this death - what was it for? It was too much for Sasuke; tears began to leak from his eyes. He felt useless; he needed to protect his nii-san and Shisui-san because there were too many enemy shinobi, but what could he possibly do?

He was six years old. Sasuke looked down at his hands and swallowed the sob that was begging to break through his vocal chords. His throat ached. His nose was so congested it gave him a headache. His arms felt weak . . .

And then, everything was clear. He could see everything and his head didn't hurt quite as much. He snapped his head toward the nin sneaking up to his brother's back, grabbed a kunai from a fallen Iwa-nin, and aimed with all the skill he'd honed with his aniki and Naruto.

He barely registered the kunai leaving his hand, only the fact that there were more nin around them and that he refused to be a burden. He needed to keep fighting; he let another kunai fly.

ooOoo

Shisui was fighting an Iwa-nin when he heard a grunt behind him. It was so close, so jarring, that he shunshined two meters to the left and saw the falling body of a blond Kumo-nin. And just behind that Kumo-nin was little Sasuke breathing heavily. Shisui kept the kunai in his hand as the Kumo-nin fell to his knees and coughed up blood before pulling the Kunai out of his shoulder (which had been heavily guarded by his armor) and turned to Sasuke.

Shisui almost rushed forward to take the nin out completely, but something stopped him. There was something different about Sasuke. Was it something in his eyes? Yes, Shisui was sure of it. But then . . . Shisui caught his breath as he stared straight into two one-tomoe sharingan eyes.

Sasuke's sharingan had awakened.

Shisui flipped the kunai in his hand and threw it straight at the nin's face, hoping to get his attention away from Sasuke. It worked - the guy brought his hand guard up and the kunai simply scratched the metallic surface.

The Iwa-nin Shisui had been fighting before was still there too, fresh as ever, while Itachi and another Kumo-nin stared at each other. In fact Shisui was pretty sure the Kumo-nin was stuck in one of Itachi's genjutsu.

"Itachi," Shisui called out and Itachi inclined his head to indicate that he was paying attention. " We need to get to the wall and stop them from getting any further."

The two nin smirked and flashed awful grins while Itachi showed no outward sign of having noticed their condescending faces. They were young, Shisui had to admit that, but they were forces to be reckoned with. Itachi was a chuunin. He, Shisui, was taking the jounin exam within the month. And Sasuke - Sasuke had just become one of the youngest in the clan to awaken their sharingan.

Th nin caught in Itachi's genjutsu collapsed, blood running down his nose and from his ears, collecting into a crimson, glassy pool around his head - like a halo - as the enemy-nin watched in horror.

The blood matted the hair and the nin seemed to feel the blood trickling out of his body because he was shuddering and his jaw tensed.

Sasuke watched for a moment, horrified, but with a small amount of fascination as the twitching stopped and the body deflated. Silence reigned for only a moment before Shisui grabbed the ninjatou from his back and swung it forward, catching the Kumo-nin off guard before he shunshined to the Iwa-nin and decapitated him as well.

"Shisui-nii, we should go now. Sasuke . . ." Itachi paused as the little six year old turned to his big brother, the sharingan not openly displaying his fear. "You did well." Sasuke's face lifted slightly; his aniki was proud of him. "Let's go."

The three sharingan wielders hurried to the wall where an almost overcome Maki was struggling not to let nin through while still remaining alive.

"They should be retreating soon." Itachi told her as they joined her and relieved some of the stress from her shoulders.

ooOoo

The Kage were having a hard time making any mark. The Kazekage's office was demolished thanks to A's rampaging and Onoki's jinton. The Kazekage's gold dust kept the other two at an advantage, though.

The fight had barely begun when Onoki and A stopped, turning their heads toward the light and red chakra bubbling on the other side of the village.

ooOoo

Kakshi, Gai, Lee, and Asuma had taken down two squads of ninja by the time they had made it to the wall with Hiashi and Hizashi. The wall, in and of itself, was now poorly guarded and dead Suna-nin littered it.

Lee was having a hard time breathing, and Gai, had sobered up in light of his student's distress.

"Lee, stay behind me and cover my back. That's all you have to do, got it?"

"Hai, Gai-sensei! Let us show them our youth, ne?"

"Yes, Lee. Let's show them our youth."

The Hyuga twins were back to back and Kakashi and Asuma were back to back, covering all angles.

ooOoo

Just as Temari and Kakuro made it to the bunkers for the civilians, they realized that they'd lost everyone.

"Dad's going to be so disappointed in us." Kakuro said as he hit his forehead to the wall several times.

"Kankuro, I'm sure we'll be fine. It's not like they're going to get into trouble. They have that jonin with them."

"Watch, they're all going to be emotionally scarred one way or another."

"Kankuro, you're so annoying."

ooOoo

Naruto and Gaara seemed to be relaxed, at first glance and Yugito and Kirabi seemed to be interested in just what they had up their sleeves. As Yugito lunged forward, they found out just what that was.

The moment Yugito lunged forward, sand appeared and seemed to shield the two six year olds from her attack.

"Well, looks like they're more than just kids, eh, Kirabi."

"You got that right cat, we'd better watch our backs, yo."

Yugito rolled her eyes, but silently agreed. The Fourth Kazekage had a technique similar to this, and it seemed dangerous.

"What are your names?" the blond kid asked through a gap in the sand.

Yugito remained silent for a while before Kirabi went ahead and answered for the both of them. "Kirabi is my name, and you better aim to find a new game yo."

Yugito sighed and waved her hand to quiet Kirabi down.

"I am Nii Yugito and you kids had better get out of here."

"What? That's it? Do you know who we are?" The blond really looked as if he was pushing for a fight.

"Yeah, Yugito! Don't you realize that this spawn of the leaf won the chunin battle showdown yo!"

"You're so weird." Naruto said under his breath.

"What was that? You must respect the cat or you will go splat!"

"I was talking about you."

Awkward.

ooOoo

Hinata had finally reached them, and it was when she heard the conversation, she nearly collapsed on the floor with laughter. And then, when she saw the larger shinobi converge on Naruto and Gaara she nearly froze.

"What exactly are you going to do to us?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"Oh, you know, incapacitate, kidnap, brainwash, the usual."

Naruto frowned at the blond lady, "Why?"

"You're too good to leave with our enemies, and it would be a shame to kill you, ne?"

Naruto continued frowning, but Hinata was finally able to move. They couldn't take Naruto-kun away! They didn't have the right! He belonged to Konoha. Konoha was their home. And Gaara-kun. He didn't deserve to leave just when he'd gotten a friend.

Hinata frowned and crept forward with all the stealth that she and Naruto had worked on and aimed a juken strike at the small of the blond kumo-nin's back.

ooOoo

Naruto had not visibly frowned when he saw Hinata sneaking up on the blond Kumo lady; he'd been trying to figure out how he was going to get them all out.

It was when the Kumo lady had collapsed, though, that Kirabi had noticed Hinata and he aimed a strike at Hinata's head. It was a quick strike, and Naruto nearly choked.

"Oh, a Hyuuga of the main branch yo."

"Stop." Naruto said with as much coldness as he could muster, but still Kirabi bent over his partner, channeled some chakra through her, and she woke up.

"Shimata." she growled as she sat up.

"Take this little Hyuga to nii-san, Yugito yo."

Yugito rubbed the back of her head and looked at the little girl that had her hair down to her just below her shoulders.

"Hm. Whatever. What happened."

"She got the drop on you, yo."

Yugito glared but took the little child into her arms."

"Stop," something weird was happening to the blond and the red head. The redhead looked extremely upset, and sand was starting to get into his hair. But the blond . . . the blond had red chakra that both Yugito and Kirabi identified with biju chakra and those whiskers on his cheeks seemed more pronounced. His teeth had taken on a fang like quality and his eyes were red, with a slit in the middle.

"Jinchuuriki." Yugito said with a bit of curiosity.

Kirabi nodded and red chakra began to bubble out of him too. Yugito simply jumped back with the little girl in her arms causing the other kid to glare and sand to rush toward her.

"You're a jinchuuriki too, right. So why do you care about her?" she asked, "She'll just betray you one day. She's just human." she seemed to know exactly what to say, and for once, Naruto's words failed Gaara.

ooOoo

"Love."

Gaara jumped a bit at the sound of Shukaku's voice.

"Doesn't Uncle Yashamaru go on about love all the time? Love. I can give you love."

Gaara shook his head. "You're too full of hate. You can't give me love."

He heard Shukaku's growls, but dismissed it, and turned to the limp form of one of his first friends.

Love. Such a strange concept. He'd almost forgotten about it. Love. He'd been writing it all night on those slips of paper. He'd been so obsessed with it yet when someone asked him a question, the answer hadn't come to him. It had been such a central theme for so long. And yet he'd forgotten about it. Love.

The sand was floating through the air and Gaara's face remained somewhat blank.

Love.

ooOoo

Yugito watched in horror as the sand converged on the little six year old's head and then when it left, blood was dripping down his face. And he was smiling, his sand reaching for her and the Hyuga.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Gaara faced Yugito, with the blood dripping down his face.

"She's my friend. She and Naruto taught me about love. Even if she leaves me, I won't be alone. I have friends now."

Yugito stared at him for a moment.

"Give her back." His sand lunged forward to grab the Hyuga from her arms, and Yugito released her, only to unleash her own biji-chakra.

The shukaku seemed to consumer the redhead's body, and the nibi seemed to consume hers. The Ichibi and nibi were facing off. Gaara was doing it in the name of love, and Yugito was doing it the name of Kumo. He seemed the more driven of the two and was countering her strokes with fuuton and though the fire had an advantage over the wind, it didn't over the sand. It wasn't hot enough to make glass and her fire was not penetrating the sand.

Meanwhile Naruto was in pain, Kurama was telling him to just tear the Octopus into shreds, and Kirabi was having fun messing with the kid.

ooOoo

The Raikage and Tsuchikage were having a hard time believing that the Hokage and Kazekage had left them.

"Hey, get back here, oh, my back!"

The Kazekage and Hokage were rushing to the other side of the village to contain the biju, but it seemed that the battle between four biju had already begun.

As the Tsuchikage and Raikage hurried after the other two Kage they saw their nin going down seemed time that they retreated.

"Gather the dead and retreat, the Tsuchikage said into his mouthpiece and he could see Iwa and Kumo-nin getting sealed up into scrolls.

He only hoped that the damage inflicted would be enough to cripple the Sand and Leaf.

"Let's get out of here, A"

ooOoo

Naruto lunged at Kirabi and the two had so much red chakra around them, that a bystander wouldn't have been able to tell where one chakra shroud ended and the other began. Naruto seemed to be aiming for the man's legs, and Kirabi seemed to just be bored as he danced around the smaller blond

"You can't do that to Hinata-chan and get away with it," Naruto growled, "Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

The chakra shroud was almost blown off of Kirabi.

"You're good kid, yo, I'll give you that. But, I -" he seemed to be listening to something and shrugged, "I got to leave, so come at me, bro, some other time."

He jumped away and grabbed the arm of the blond lady and they were gone.

Hokage-jiji and Gaara's father showed up a second later, and Gaara seemed to be calm - Hinata was being guarded by his sand.

And the buildings around them . . . well, they'd need a lot of renovating before they were back to their former glory.

ooOoo

Tsume hung her head as the three Iwa-nin eyed her, the Haimaru brothers, and Kuromaru.

"You're outnumbered and outclassed," she growled.

"Yeah, well. your kiddies are dead - or at least soon will be un."

The sound of her gloves stretching was the only indication that she was bothered, and Deidara was smirking as he flung another bomb at her.

She still had the presence of mind to dodge, though.

"Shimata," he cursed as Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi lifted up their kunai defensively as the jonin mother still stood with an arrogant air.

"You're going down," Kurotsuchi bit out, "and once I take you down, I will take down that annoying little blond who took every-"

"Do you think it will be so easy?" Tsume interrupted, "That kid has a gift and a curse that I doubt you would ever be able to understand." Here, Tsume paused, as if wondering if she should say anything more, before she seemingly came to a decision and continued, "You will leave that poor pup alone - he's done nothing to you."

The only sound to be heard was the distant clashing of kunai and the occasional thump of a body falling to the ground, never to breathe again. The silence reigned, and the wind of Kaze no Kuni swept through the village.

"His father killed my mother." Kurotsuchi's voice broke through the night, almost a croak. "She was one of the hundred that he killed with one jutsu. He'd going down."

Tsume seemed to understand slightly, but her eyes hardened quickly, "We are shinobi.'

Kurotsuchi scowled, "I know that."

"Then, as a shinobi, you should understand that there is always risk in war. There is always risk, even in your own village. Everything that Yondaime-sama did was to protect the village."

"We're not the ones that started that damn war!"

"No, someone else did, with the disappearance of the Sandaime Kazekage. And maybe we'll never know who did it, but the fact still remains, it wasn't his fault and you're going to leave him alone."

Tsume flung a kunai at them quickly, it seemed almost surreal, as if she were back in the war. She hadn't liked the war.

The three genin had surrounded her, and the Haimaru brothers were down, when had that happened?

"Shimata!" Tsume jumped back. She'd seen these kids fight, but she'd still underestimated them. She was getting rusty; she couldn't afford this complacency; she needed to sharpen up.

"Kuso," she cursed again as she dodged another volley of kunai and shuriken.

"Okaa-san!"

"Hana?" Tsume's heart nearly stopped before she regained her sense of self. "Where are Kiba, Sakura, and Ichirou?"

"At the hospital. They're alive, but . . . Ichirou won't be waking up anytime soon."

The blond brat smirked and Hana had to restrain herself from attacking him head on.

"Can you cover me?"

"Yes."

Not too far away the rampaging toads were doing their jobs, and no more Iwa or Kumo-nin seemed to be entering the village, and Hana and Tsume barely caught sight of the red chakra that strangely enough was beginning to die down.

An Iwa-nin and Kumo-nin stopped by just as Hana was about to fling kunai at the Iwa-genin and they held their hands up.

"We're retreating, and now you're outnumbered." Tsume and Hana looked at the two distastefully but nodded. They were too tired and sore - they should have taken a nap at the party. The day had taken a toll on them and it was probably midnight at this point.

"Hana, I'll follow them to the wall, and then go to the hospital, okay. Take your nin-ken."

"But, okaa-san!"

"Do it."

Hana lowered her head, and nodded before gathering up her ninken and shunshinning out of there.

ooOoo

Maki, Shisui, Itachi, and Sasuke were joined by Genma and Raido, who were following two teams of Iwa and Kumo-nin that had many scrolls on them and were leaving the village.

"What's going on, Genma-senpai," Shisui asked as there didn't seem to be anyone left to fight.

"They're retreating."

Sasuke let out a breath of air, and Itachi put a hand on his little brother's shoulder.

"Well, that's good to know." Maki said as she dropped to the ground and leaned onto the wall.

"What are you doing?" Genma asked an eyebrow raised, "Resting. I've been fighting from the beginning of this. I'm the one that sounded the alarm."

"Oh, that was you? Well, good job on staying alive."

"Yeah," and she was out.

ooOoo

Hana had made it to the hospital and quickly had to brace herself so she wouldn't fall over when Kiba attacked her. It was especially difficult with the Haimaru brothers in her arms.

"Kiba, I need to take care of the Haimaru brothers and then see what I can do to help the doctors here."

"Okay, onee-san. How's mom?"

"She'll be here in a bit."

"Was she okay?"

"Mom's a jounin. She can handle herself. She was fine, she just doesn't work as well with the Haimaru brothers as I do. Another person's ninken can never substitute for you own. Remember that, Kiba."

"I will. Okaa-san said I'd be getting my nin-ken soon! She said as soon as the next litter comes in!"

"So, in two months?"

"Yep."

"Kiba!" their mother's voice was on the other side of the hospital, but both Hana and Kiba were relieved to have heard it.

"Okaa-san!" he ran to his mother and wrapped his arms around her afraid that she'd disappear, wall of rock present or not.

ooOoo

Shirou was at the morgue, not doing anyone any good. His little brother, lay in one of those metal coffins, and he was having a hard time coming to terms with it. His teammates were either dead or in the hospital under critical condition and he could do nothing to change any of it. Gorou was dead from blood loss before he'd even reached the hospital.

Tears were leaking out of his eyes, but other than that, there was no outward sign that he had registered what had happened. If only he were a medic nin. If only he'd made a tourniquet. His brother would still be alive. He was supposed to watch over his little brother. And he'd failed him.

"Hey, are you alright?" someone asked him, and as he looked down, he saw a little girl with brown hair and brown eyes, tears leaking from them as she struggled to hold in her sniffs."

"Not really. How about you?" he asked.

"My parents got caught in the fighting."

Shisou stayed quiet for a moment, "I'm sorry. My twin brother did too."

"I'm Matsuri. Can you be my big brother, then?" Shirou gave her a sad smile, and placed his hand on her head.

"Sure. I'm Shirou." she seemed sadder than him at the moment, it looked like she needed all the comfort he could give her. "Do you want to meet my other teammate? She's sleeping in one of the other rooms of the hospital, but she should be fine.

"Yeah."

"She's a kunoichi, you know. And I think she'll be promoted to chunin!"

"Really? I don't know if I want to be a ninja."

"Being a ninja's more than just death and fighting. Its about protecting." Strange. In trying to comfort her, he'd helped himself a bit too.

"But, what if you fail?"

"Then you try again," the two turned to the old woman that was tending to some of the wounded.

"Chiyo-sama," Shirou bowed.

"Don't bow to me young man. You should be focusing on what you have to do. All of us should.

Shirou nodded and took Matsuri's hand again.

ooOoo

Sakura was sitting alone at the hospital, once Kiba had seen his sister coming towards it, when one of the nurses came up to them.

"You're the redhead, Ichirou's sister, ne?"

Sakura looked up and nodded.

"Is he going to be alright?"

"Well, we don't know when he'll wake up, but things look to be going well for him right now. He can't be moved out of the hospital, but he's alive. Do you want to see him?"

Sakura nodded and followed the brunette nurse to a small room that was housing five patients.

The red alarm stopped and the nurse looked up, "Well, looks like the fighting for the shinobi has stopped, and the fighting for the nurses has just begun. I'll leave you with your brother, but then I'll have to work on some other patients."

"Okay, thank you."

When the nurse left Sakura, and she saw all the tubes connected onto him, she grabbed his arm and cried.

"Ichirou-nii, I'm going to become a medic-nin like Tsuande-sama and I'm going to wake you up, you hear me? You're going to wake up, and you're going to show okaa-san and otou-san what a great ninja you are, okay?" she was shaking from the sobs that racked her body as she shouted at her unconscious brother.

His hand twitched slightly, and then he stopped moving, but Sakura smiled. "I'll do it, nii-san." she whispered.

ooOoo

Sunagakure did not wake up with the dawn. There was no one else to wake. With the dawn, the fallen were buried and the mourning began.

Matsuri was clinging to Shirou and Shirou was saying goodbye to his brother, his elder brothers Ichirou and Jirou behind him keeping a comforting presence. Shirou was now the baby of the family.

"So, are we adopting the kid into our family?" Niirou asked as he peered at the little girl who hid in Shirou's pants further.

"Yeah, she's got nowhere else to go." Niirou almost seemed to force a smile, but it was genuine.

"Well, Matsuri, welcome to the family!"

"Th-thank you."

Not too far away, Gaara, who had a nicely cleaned wound in the shape of the kanji for love on his forehead watched the makeshift family with curiosity before he turned to his brother and sister, who were so depressed at having lost everyone in the crowd and blamed Haruno-san's condition on themselves.

ooOoo

Naruto was standing next to Kakashi-nii and Genma-sensei with Hana-nee and Kiba as they commemorated the fallen shinobi.

But, Naruto couldn't help but feel mad. It wasn't fair that Ichirou's name wasn't being mentioned because he wasn't 'dead.' Ichirou wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon!

He looked up to see Kakashi-nii's hand on his shoulder and struggled to keep his tears in.

ooOoo

As the memorial died down, the Kazekage and Hokage stood in front of everyone and said, "Despite the invasion, chuunin promotions must be administered. The following are chuunin: Gorou, who died during the invasion, Shirou, Katsue, Inuzuka Hana, Haruno Ichirou, also incapacitated during the invasion, and Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto."

"At those words, Naruto's eyes widened and he looked up at the old man. He was giving him his fathers name. A small smile found its way onto his face, and though it was short lived, it gave the Konoha-nin some semblance of normalcy.

ooOoo

As Gaara made his way through the kazekage mansion later that day, he couldn't shake the thought that his friend was leaving. He saw some shinobi that had been promoted to chunin and his father and as he got closer, he was beckoned closer.

Gaara remained hesitant, however.

"Otou-san. Is there anything you need?"

"Gaara, I think it's time you learned how to be a ninja."

The other ninja left.

"Okay."

"You'll be working with your uncle Yashamaru, Baki-san, and you brother and sister. If you behave, I might send you on missions to Konoha to spend time with your friend and serve as emissary."

"You know I'm going to take that hat from you one day, right tou-san?"

The kazekage seemed to pause for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, I'm sure you will."

ooOoo

"Naruto-san, Sasuke-san . . ."

"Sakura-san?"

"Can you teach me how to become a ninja? I need to help my brother - I'm going to become as good a medic-nin as Tsunade-sama, but I need to know what to do."

The three six year olds stared at one another for a moment before Naruto nodded. "Do you know how to access you chakra? How to do the handsigns or any basic taijutsu kata?"

"No."

Sasuke sighed.

"Well, let's begin with handsigns and taijutsu kata then we can see where to go on from there."

Sakura giggled.

"What?"

"You seem all serious as if you know exactly what to do, Sasuke-kun, but last time I checked, you hadn't graduated either."

Sasuke growled.

"Yeah, teme, I've even got this super cool chuunin jacket and Hokage-jiji let me have my tou-san's name" he stuck out his tongue and turned to Sakura going through all the hand signs slowly so that she could copy him.

ooOoo

"Goodbye Gaara!" Naruto shouted as the entire Konoha group left the village under construction.

"Goodbye, Naruto!"

An explosion sounded throughout the village that was under construction and all turned to look at the Kazekage tower which . . . was tie dyed.

"Gaara!"

"I didn't do anything!" Gaara quickly denied as he ran away laughing, a small stuffed tanuki in his arms as he rushed away, nearly bumping into Shirou and Matsuri as they headed toward the hospital to visit Katsue.

ooOoo

Naruto was walking next to Hinata nervously. Did she see him differently? Was she scared of what he was?

"Is there something wrong, Naruto-kun?"

"Ah . . ."

Hinata frowned, "Is it because Sakura-san has spent the entire day with Sasuke instead of you today to learn the ninja arts?"

"No . . ."

"Then, is it because Gaara-kun is still in Suna, and we are leaving?"

Naruto was rubbing the back of his head, "No, it's not that."

"Then . . . what is it Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata-chan . . . I . . . did you see that weird chakra?"

"Weird . . . chakra . . . Naruto-kun, what are you talking about?"

"Ah, it's nothing!" and he was back to his cheerful self.

ooOoo

Naruto had never been so relieved to see the Hokage mountain. As the group got to the gate, Naruto was bouncing from jounin to jounin, pulling Hinata from Genma-sensei to Kakashi-nii, from Tsume-san to Asuma-san.

"Hinata-chan's so cool! She can do bunshin, kawarimi, and henge already! And her taijutsu is so cool and great, and just -"

"Sarutobi-sensei, why does a six year old have a chuunin flack jacket?"

Everyone stopped and stared at the tall blond in shock. And no, they did were not shocked by her generous endowment.

Whispers of her name were rushing through the crowd of returning Konoha-nin, and as soon as Sakura heard the name Tsunade, she'd rushed forward, leaving Sasuke, Itachi, and Shisui where they were, and stopping in front of the blond sannin.

"Tsunade-shishou, please take me as your apprentice."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, and the brunette behind her holding the pig seemed almost scared of what Tsunade would do to the pink haired six year old.

"Why?"

"Because I have to wake up my brother. He's in a coma in Suna and no one could help him, because none of them know how to fix him."

Tsunade's face softened and her lip quirked up into a smile before she hardened again, "I don't know if I'm staying, but you'll have to work really hard."

"Hai, Tsunade-shishou!"

"Uh, Tsunade, how about we talk in my office."

"Okay, Sarutobi-sensei, but, again. Why does that six year old have a chunin flack jacket?" They'd already started walking into the village.

"Because he's a chuunin."

"You're joking right sensei."

"No. His name is Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto."

A moment of silence.

"What?"

"Tsunade-sama!"

ooOoo

"Hey, Neji!" Neji turned toward Tenten slightly before continuing with his stretch.

"Neji?"

"I'm here Tenten."

"Oh, well, I just heard that we're at war with Iwa and Kumo!"

"What?" Neji had stopped his stretching.

"I know. And apparently the fourth had a son. All the villagers are talking about it and seem kind of angry and scared and annoyed, especially the women at the grocery store. They're all going on about how some Uzumaki person was a slut."

"But, wait does that mean that Gai-sensei and Lee are back."

"Well, yeah, that's where I heard it from. Are you alright, Neji?"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Saburou was a jounin level shinobi of Sunagakure that loved leek soup and miso ramen. He was born to Daisuke and Etsuko two loyal shinobi of Suna about seventeen years before. His hair, though dark brown and straight, felt stringy most of the time despite the arid climate of his village and was usually covered by his hitai-ate in a bandana like fashion. He'd been assigned to a mission with his parents in Kiri before the Fourth Great Shinobi War had started, and hadn't been able to report in in two months.

The mission was coming to a close, but that didn't lessen Saburou's anxiousness to get it done. He was separated from his parents, who were deep in foreign, unknown territory, and they had all been hoping to get home before the chunin exams finished, they had two family members in it - Saburou's two younger brothers Shirou and Gorou.

Of course, if only he could convince this Kiri-nin that no, he had not meant to steal this oh so important scroll . . .

"Just give it up."

"Ah . . . no."

The other nin rolled his eyes, "Do you even need another war?"

That caught Saburou's attention.

"What?"

The Kiri-nin smirked, "Iwa and Kumo got together and attacked Suna during the chunin exams. Apparently, you have enough enemies to worry about."

Whatever blood Saburou may have had in his face had quickly drained away. He had to find okaa-san and otou-san right away!

"Well, it's been fun, but I have to go!" He dashed forward, sword in hand, and with poisoned senbon in between his knuckles before he let them fly and struck the guy down.

He looked to have been defeated . . .

"I'd love to let you go, but as you said, we don't need more trouble. Goodbye . . ." The steel of his katana cut through the flesh like butter.

As he was running back in the direction of Suna - it was a general direction - he caught sight of his parents.

"Saburou!" he heard his mom call out, and he vaguely registered the fuuma shuriken that was heading towards Daisuke, his father.

"Otou-san!" the words didn't sound nearly loud enough to Saburou's ears, and he watched as the fuuma shuriken cut through the left side of his his father before planting itself in his mother.

His father looked spent and bit out at his wife and son, "Get out of here." before bursting into flames.

Saburou rushed forward, grabbed his mother, and just as he was leaving, he saw the face of the nin that must have thrown the shuriken.

The only thing that registered as he turned and rushed away was the Iwa hitai-ate.

ooOoo

Konohagakure seemed strangely peaceful considering it was at war with two of the other Great Shinobi villages. The birds were singing in the trees. Tora the cat was being chased by a genin team. The sun wasn't too unbearable.

March was being kind to the village.

_Click-clack-smash._

"What?" Or not.

"Sasuke activated his sharingan during the invasion, otou-san. He saved our lives numerous times."

"But . . . he's six."

"Yes, otou-san, he's very talented. His kunai were accurate and precise. And he has one tomoe in each of his sharingan."

Fugaku's face was comical, Mikoto's face, though shocked - as evidenced by the broken bowl at her feet that she made no move to pick up - was proud.

"That's . . ." the Uchiha clan head seemed at a loss for words and the entire kitchen became still as they heard the 'swish' of a door sliding open and bare feet padding on the wooden floor.

"Otou-san, okaa-san, aniki? What's for breakfast?" Sasuke appeared bleary eyed and trying to get rid of the fatigue .

Mikoto, being the first to react smiled, picking up the larger pieces of the bowl, before getting a dustpan and brush, "Well, we have okayu (rice pudding), miso soup, and tamagoyaki (rolled omelet). You can put tomatoes in your tamagoyaki, though, if you'd like, Sasuke-chan."

Sasuke made a face at the suffix, but sat down next to his aniki without complaint.

"So, Sasuke," his father began, and Sasuke looked up, curious, "I heard you activated your sharingan."

Sasuke's face became red, resembling the tomato he loved so much and the old friend of his mother's, and looked down as Mikoto placed a plate in front of him.

"Itadakimasu," he mumbled before breaking apart his chopsticks and digging into the okayu.

"After breakfast," his father's voice interrupted his otherwise quiet meal, "let's go down to the lake Sasuke. I have something I want to show you." It was a more a command than a request, but Sasuke smiled anyway.

"Okay, otou-san. Aniki, do you have another mission soon?"

"No. I'm on leave for the next two days because of what happened in Suna."

"After otou-san and I are done, can we practice some more with Shisui-san?"

"I'll go ask him, but I think so."

"Thanks!" And Sasuke took quick bites, eager to go out with his father.

ooOoo

Tsunade stared at her sensei in slight horror once she'd heard the story of what had happened in the village after she'd left.

"We're at war again?" were the first words she could string together.

"Yes, I want you to organize a medic-nin program."

"I don't even want to be here, sensei!"

"So, why did you come back?"

"I won seven million ryou at the gambling district of Tanzaku Gai."

The Hokage's unlit pipe fell out of his mouth.

"What?"

"I won seven million ryou -"

"I heard what you said, I'm just having a hard time believing it."

"Believe it, sensei," and she hauled a suitcase onto his desk, opening it to reveal a set of paid bills and two million ryou notes."

"Really, Tsunade?"

"I had to pay my bills; the point is, I should still be in debt!"

The Hokage sighed and rested his head on his hand, "I'm getting too old for this job. Would you consider -"

"No."

He sighed again, "It was worth a try. So, what do you say about organizing a medic program?"

Tsunade clenched her fists and shook slightly before slumping her shoulders in defeat. "Okay, but don't expect me to get anywhere near operations."

Her old sensei looked at her with a fond, sad smile, "I understand, Tsunade. Now, about that jackpot . . ."

"Who else do I have to lose, sensei?"

He frowned, "The Senju clan is still alive, Tsunade."

She rolled her eyes, "We disbanded. There was no reason to stay together, we weren't a specialized clan.

"Yes, Tsunade. But, they're still family. Is it so hard to believe that-"

"Stop with the bullshit sensei. Who is it? What are you keeping from me sensei?"

The Hokage seemed confused, tired, and all around ready to retire, "I don't know what it is that you want to hear, Tsunade. But, perhaps you should -"

"Hokage-sama!" the Hokage's secretary cried out, running into the office, hair in disarray and an annoyed expression on her face, "He's doing it again?"

"Who's doing what?" Tsunade and Sarutobi asked a little curious and dumbfounded at the interruption.

ooOoo

Naruto snickered as he swung down from the rope he'd latched onto one of his father's hair spikes, a can of paint in his hands, wearing dull orange to hide against the cliff face, and a picture of his mother clenched in between his teeth.

It was broad daylight, but that wasn't bothering Naruto at all. With a wicked grin on his face he made fifty shadow clones as his feet clung to the rope, had some of them throw paint cans that he'd brought down to the ones that were hanging on their own ropes and smirked.

"Alright let's get to work!" he exclaimed as he lowered the goggles he'd bought to not get paint in his eyes - he'd left his hitai-ate at home - and started creating his masterpiece.

And that was how Uzumaki Kushina's face made it onto the Hokage mountain right beside her husband.

ooOoo

Shizune-senpai was really cool, Sakura quickly decided. Shizune had taken it upon herself to make sure that Sakura knew all the basic academy jutsu, which the little girl did courtesy of Naruto and Sasuke, and teaching her how to defy gravity.

Sakura had succeeded in that quickly, but did not have much chakra, which Shizune got to work on fixing straight away. Shisune-senpai wasn't cruel in her regimen, after all it had only been half a day, but by the end of it, Sakura was more than happy to stop for lunch with her senpai.

It was when Sakura had an onigiri in her mouth that Shizune-senpai, staring at her teacup, spoke, "I was actually surprised when Tsunade-sama agreed so quickly to teach you."

Sakura, pausing slightly, responded, "Why?"

"Tsunade-sama," here Shizune put her cup down, and turned to Sakura a sad expression on her face, "said she'd never take another apprentice after me."

Reading Sakura's confused and stricken face, she continued, "Tsunade-sama lost a lot of precious people. Her younger brother, her lover - my uncle. When he died, Tsunade-sama tried to save him and couldn't. Since that day, she freezes when she sees blood, and hasn't been able to heal anyone with even a drop of blood visible. But, I guess, what I'm trying to say is," Shizune looked up to the sky, a smile on her face, "I'm happy that Tsunade came back and that she took a new apprentice though she'd sworn to never do either. I think having a little kid around will be good for Tsunade-sama."

Shizune looked back at Sakura and the two shared a smile before Sakura took another bite of her onigiri and looking out at the crowd around them. People were shopping, and seemed annoyed about something, particularly the civilian women, but the market place seemed to still be functioning, so it must not be something big.

She could smell the dango from the next shop over, and the heavenly smell caused Sakura to look up and turn her head toward the store, eyes closed and simply inhaling the smell. The sweetness, the heavenly spices, the smell of them frying, hot and delicious. Just the thought of one glazed dango made Sakura's mouth water.

She opened her eyes.

The Hokage mountain . . .

Sakura began to laugh; it was a small giggle at first, and then full blown laughter. and Shizune-senpai turned to ask her what was wrong.

"The Hokage-" laughter- "mountain-" peals spilling from her mouth and causing her stomach to ache, but it had gotten the job done.

Shizune looked up at the mountain and quirked her lips up in amusement.

ooOoo

Mikoto had been frowning since the moment she'd left the compound. She was glad that her sons were such geniuses, it meant that they probably - hopefully - wouldn't be dying anytime soon, but it also meant that they were geniuses. And she didn't know how to handle that.

Itachi was hard enough to read, if she ended up having _two_ Itachis, then . . . she didn't know whether to laugh or cry about the fact that she was upset over having two geniuses when many women would love to have them instead, if only to brag to other women.

But, Mikoto loved how Sasuke had always been her little innocent guy, to whom she explained things. he felt more like a child. Itachi had had that taken away from him because of the Third Great Ninja War, and if things went on as things seemed to be going, then the Fourth Great Ninja War would take it away from her other son.

Mikoto was pulled from her thoughts by the sight of a tomato, and stopping, she picked one up, bringing it near her nose and smelling it - it smelled ripe enough, and so she added it to her basket picking a few others, paid the vendor and went on her way, returning her to her thoughts.

It just seemed strange that she had two sons and none of them could be normal.

"Mikoto-sama!" she turned to the voice calling out to her, one of her clansman, she couldn't quite remember his name . . .

"Yes?"

"The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero is back!"

"What?" her brow furrowed, "Kushina?"

He pointed to the left, toward the Hokage tower and she smirked as she saw the extremely lifelike portrait of the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero.

"And why are you telling me this?" she asked. She knew who he was now. Not his name, no, but he was one of the ones that got smashed by Kushina because he called her a tomato - like the ones in her basket.

"Because you were one of the only ones that could calm her down!" he seemed terrified.

"Mah, you're quite excitable neh?" she took one of the tomatoes out of her basket and inspected it for added effect.

"Mikoto-sama?!"

"You do realize that's just a picture, right? Her _son_ is paying homage to her."

"Eh? What?"

"I'll see you back at the compound!" and she turned, replacing the tomato and continued her shopping with less plaguing thoughts.

Sasuke had a friend in Naruto and knowing what Naruto's mother had been like, Mikoto was sure that Naruto wouldn't let Sasuke become recluse and scarred by it all. After all, he was a genius in his own right. And if he could get through it, so could Sasuke.

ooOoo

Kakashi struggled to keep his eyes from betraying what was being expressed on his masked face. He was smiling so widely that his face hurt.

In fact, he was still smiling when he jumped up to the mountain and wall-walked to his sensei's head where he found Naruto inspecting his father's seals and making sure that they were in good condition - that no one had tampered with them.

"Hey, Naruto. Maybe you should give up being a ninja and become an artist . . ."

Naruto smiled and turned to Kakashi, rubbing the back of his head not looking ashamed at all that he'd defaced the Hokage mountain.

"Kakashi-nii, you know I can't do that! How would I make otou-san and okaa-san proud?"

Kakashi rolled his eye and waved his hand offhandedly, dismissing the kid and lazily smiling.

"Anyway -"

"Kakashi, my eternal rival -"

"Naruto-san, my eternal rival -"

"I challenge you to a duel!"

Naruto and Kakashi stared at the two of them before Naruto whispered, "Oh Lord, there are _two_ of them?" and then Naruto spoke up louder, "Did you say something?"

Kakashi's mouth twitched, but he didn't say anything.

"Naruto-san, I will not be put off by your hip attitude! I challenge you to a race! Whoever brings a camellia to their sensei -"

Naruto disappeared and Kakashi looked betrayed, but then Naruto was back, a camellia in hand.

"Which sensei? I just gave one to Genma-sensei, and here's one for Kakashi-nii . . ."

Gai and Lee stared at the blond for a long minute, and Naruto started fidgeting before they lifted their fists, determined grins on their faces.

"We'll be back stronger and faster Naruto-kun! Your flames of youth shine brightly indeed!"

And they were gone.

"Well, Naruto -"

"Will they always be like that?"

"Eh?"

"Looking to compete."

"Yes."

"Damn it!"

"Anyway, the reason I came here was that we need to see Jiraiya-sama. It's time for you to sign the toad contract."

Naruto's eyes widened at the same pace as the smile that stretched across his face.

"Well? What are we waiting for - ttebayo? Let's go see ero-sennin!"

ooOoo

Naruto looked at the toad contract scroll with a sad smile. He saw his father's name, in his father's blood, and his father's fingerprints, from hands that had once held him with love. It seemed strange to be signing this contract.

Behind him, Jiraiya and Kakashi were watching him bite his lip as he signed his name next to his father's.

"Alright, why don't you try it out?"

Naruto grinned and flashed through the hand seals that he'd known for quite some time, blood still glistening on his hands.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

A small frog that couldn't really talk yet looked blankly at Naruto, Kakashi, and Jiraiya.

"Shimata." Naruto went through the handsigns again and pushed so much chakra into the jutsu, that Jiraiya and Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Woah!" Naruto fell as the ground beneath him became unstable and he fell onto the boss toad's head.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that quite yet . . ." as Jiraiya spoke, Kakashi looked up to the sky where Naruto sat and his eye caught the hawk.

"Ah, well will you look at that . . . Hokage-sama is calling all jounin and chuunin . . . Come on Naruto."

"Wah?"

"Who is this brat?"

"I'm Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Eh? Oh. Minato's son, eh?" Naruto grinned. "He doesn't look like much," his smile fell.

"Gamabunta, let's catch up another time, eh?"

"What? Well, fine, but you're not off the hook. Don't think I haven't forgotten the last time you summoned me."

"Um, we're going to be late . . ." Kakashi looked up at the sky.

"Oh, please, you'll show up two hours late like always, nii-san!"

ooOoo

The Hokage was impatient and so were the rest of the shinobi above genin. They were all gathered in front of the Academy and appeared to be lazily sitting. They'd been called to the meeting two hours before and still Naruto, one of the newest chuunin and Kakashi were still not there . . .

"Well, aren't you all looking lazy."

"What?"

"Kakashi! Finally! We can begin." The Hokage pulled his pie out of his mouth and faced his shinobi."We're in the Fourth Shinobi War, as some of you know. For those that don't the reason for the war is quite simple. Kumo tried to kidnap the Hyuuga heir and failed. And when they demanded the death of our jinchuuriki, and the son of the Yondaime, and we refused, they took up negotiations with Iwa."

All the shinobi were quiet, though some of them were looking at the blond, not quite sure how to react to the news revealed.

"Suna is our only ally in all of this. Kiri is in the middle of a civil war and and the other two Great nations are against us. The new genin will be on patrol around the village as well as on D-Ranks and some C-ranks. Chuunin will patrol further and take C-ranks as well as B-ranks. Jonin will receive orders directly from me. We cannot show weakness. Chuunin dismissed."

All the chuunin left except Naruto.

"Ojiji, do you want me to go, or should I wait for ero-sennin and Kakashi-nii?"

The jounin women chuckled at the title, particularly that blond lady that Sakura-san had begged to train her . . . Tsupade? Tsuneda? Tsunade? That's what it was . . . he was moderately certain.

The Hokage laughed too, "No, Naruto. You can stay. Jounin," he was serious again, "We're going to need jounin sensei, but unfortunately, we won't be able to baby the graduates. They need to grow. Teach them what you can. Pass on the will of fire. And make sure that if they do make their first kill at too early an age, they are able to put it behind them, but not to the point where they lose their humanity."

For a moment his eyes seemed to rest on Kakashi, and Kakashi seemed to be thinking along the same lines, and though Naruto barely caught it, he saw Kakashi nod his head.

"Jounin, dismissed."

"Hey, Kakashi-nii, are you getting a team?" Naruto wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Yes. But you should go talk to Genma-san. He looks like he needs to talk to you and Hana. I'll go get her!" he was gone in a puff of smoke.

Damn shunshin. Naruto shook his head and ran over to his jounin-sensei who hadn't moved since the Hokage had dismissed them all.

"Genma-sensei!"

"Ah, there you are, Naruto. Let's go find Hana. I need to speak to you both."

ooOoo

"Alright, Sasuke the Goukakyuu no justu is a right of passage. As you already have your sharingan, it should be easier for you to accomplish this. Go ahead activate it."

Sasuke looked unsure, but channeled chakra to his eyes, with them closed, hoping it worked. Itachi-nii said he'd activated it in Suna, but it hadn't really registered all that much.

He breathed in deeply - he didn't want to know what his father would say if he failed. He opened his eyes, and heard his father breathe in deeply.

He was almost scared to look at his father's face, but when he did, he almost laughed. Uchiha Fugaku looked stunned.

"Otou-san?"

No reaction.

"Otou-san," a little louder and still no reaction.

"Otou-san!" there. His father looked to have collected himself enough and had nodded - more to himself than to Sasuke.

"Now, watch my hands, and my chakra closely." Sasuke didn't move his eyes at all.

He saw the building up of chakra and then the release. And that was one big fire ball . . . wait until Naruto saw this . . .

Sasuke, eager to try out the jutsu, ran forward and tried the technique. he got some fire out but it hurt and it wasn't at all what he'd expected.

"Otou-san . . . ."

"Try again." Sasuke nodded, without turning back, and quickly flashed through the hand signs.

"Again."

"Again."

"Again."

Sasuke could hardly breathe, his head, throat, and chest hurt. He needed water. This was not fun . . .

"Can I have some water, otou-san?"

Fugaku looked shocked, he hadn't even thought about water, "Aah."

As Sasuke hurried back to the house, Fugaku frowned. The kid was good, but his chakra wasn't strong enough for some reason. It was as if . . .

When Sasuke returned to the lake, his father had disappeared.

Why had his father left? Was he not good enough? Did he do something wrong? He tried again, a bottle of water ready. He tried and tried and tried some more.

ooOoo

"Alright, Hana, Naruto . . . it looks like our team is being disbanded, but since you all graduated to chuunin, that was inevitable. Naruto you're going back to Kakashi-san. Hana, you will be recruited into the medic corps being lead by Tsunade."

Naruto looked down, "What about Ichirou?"

Naruto and Hana were silent, afraid of the answer that their sensei seemed about to give.

"I talked to his parents. They'll probably pay for a mission and beg Tsunade to go and heal him . . . although they've informed me that they want him to take a break and to tell the Hokage that he's given up enough for the village."

"But," Hana said with an annoyed frown on her face, "that's Ichirou's decision. They can't decide for him. He's a shinobi - an adult! That -"

"I know, Hana. And they won't be able to force him, but the fact still remains that our team is being disbanded, so even if he comes back, he'll probably be joining some other team."

"But," they both turned to Naruto, "We'll still be a family, right. When we were assigned teams, they said we'd be a family. Even if the team is being broken up, that doesn't mean we'll stop being family, right?"

The two looked at Naruto.

"Yeah, we'll meet up every Saturday night!" Hana said and the other two grinned, "And Genma-sensei can pay."

Now, only Naruto was grinning.

ooOoo

Fugaku returned to the lake to find Sasuke and a large fireball . . . Sasuke was panting and looked like he'd been working on it since Fugaku's left. His lips quirked up and he lifted his hands to clap, putting down the bag he'd gotten from the Shinobi Supplies store.

At the sound of the clapping, Sasuke turned around quickly,

"Otou-san?"

"Good job Sasuke."

Sasuke looked down, not smiling and still obviously upset that his father had left.

"I noticed that you were having trouble with the Katon jutsu and wondered if it really was your affinity. So many Uchiha have a katon affinity, it never occurred to me that you might have something else, though you seem to have mastered it. Here."

Sasuke took the piece of paper from his father and looked at it curiously before frowning back at the police chief.

"Channel chakra into it."

So he did. and it crinkled up before turning into flames, forcing the kid to drop the paper quickly. Fugaku seemed confused for a moment, before his face lit up in realization and he smiled at his son.

"You have more lightening type chakra then fire, which is good since only wind beats lightning, but fire beats wind. and there are very few wind type users."

Sasuke seemed intrigued and soaked up all the information like a sponge.

"Good job Sasuke. Just as I expect of my exceptional sons." As Fugaku walked away, and Itachi and Shisui ran up, having just got done with their own training, Sasuke smiled.

"Sasuke, what happened?" Itachi asked.

"I got the Goukakyuu no jutsu down."

Shisui and Itachi stared at Sasuke and then, Itachi smiled while Shisui smirked.

"You're already far ahead of the other academy students . . ."

"When does that start again, Itachi?"

"Monday."

"Now, Sasuke, you'll have to be careful. You don't want all the girls going after you, it gets really old after a while."

ooOoo

Kiba stared at the white newborn puppy that his mother has pointed out to him.

"What's his name?"

Tsume laughed, "That's your decision, though I suggest you wait a bit. You can find out a lot about your ninken and then want to name him something else. So wait a bit."

"Okay," Kiba seemed skeptical but went on to more important things, "Can I bring him to Shino?"

"No."

"What? Why?" he seemed distressed.

"Because he was just born yesterday, Kiba. You can't take him from his mom until he's at least two months old."

"What? B-but -"

"No, Kiba. You can bring Shino to see him, but you can't take the pup out of here yet."

Kiba looked down kind of disappointed but the next moment he was running out the door, eager to drag his friend to see his ninken.

ooOoo

When Shino answered the door, he had expected an associate of his father or Kiba. He was right.

"Hello, Kiba. How were the ex-"

"Come on! I have to show you my new ninken. I haven't named him yet, and he was born yesterday, but he's really cute!"

"What?" They were already half way to the Inuzuka kennels with how fast Kiba was going, and so he slowed down and began walking backwards.

"Oh, and did you know that we're at war with Kumo and Iwa?" Shino stopped

"My father might have said something about it, but I'm not sure."

"Well, we are. I was there when it all started, and you should have seen us go. Hana-nee was so great, and when Ichirou went down, I had to drag Sakura-san to safety!" Kiba pulled at his jacket, his face tilted up and a smug grin on his lips.

"Of course you did."

"No, really!" They'd started walking again, "She was kind of like a zombie. Ichirou-san is still in a coma!"

Shino nodded, "Then we must hope that he survives, for Sakura's sake."

"Pshh. My sister's teammate is stronger than that, You'll see, Shino!"

ooOoo

"See you tomorrow, Shizune-senpai!"

"Bye, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura had passed Shizune-senpai's test and had been deemed ready to start learning medical ninjutsu within the week, though she'd still have to go to the Academy, according to Shizune-senpai.

"Okaa-san, otou-san, I'm home!"

"Sakura!" her mother looked upset, to say the least, and her father, behind her looked as if he might have gotten a few gray hairs. "Where were you?"

"I was with Shizune-senpai," Sakura was confused, was her mother mad at her?

"Shizune-senpai? Sakura, you're not going to be a ninja! We're going to get Ichirou home and then Tsunade-sama will fix him and you two will stop this nonsense!" the Haruno matriarch was crying at this point, "I can't lose you."

"Okaa-san . . ."

"Sakura, why don't you go to bed? You can still go to the academy, your brother would want you to, your mother's just upset. She doesn't like war."

Sakura paused as she began to walk away and after a moment of inner turmoil she turned back.

"Ichirou saved me. he got in the way of the falling rocks from the explosion and saved me. I want to do the same for Ichirou-nii-san. I want to save him too. But, I know I'm not strong, and so I'm going to be as good a medic-nin as Tsunade-sama so that if he gets hurt again, I can fix him up." and then Sakura walked away.

"We should have never let her go to Suna," Mebuki said, tears still running down her face.

ooOoo

It was Sunday, and the first thing Ino did when she woke up was stretch. It was a nice, long, lazy stretch - the kind of stretch often employed by cats. First her arms reached as far as it could go, and then her legs, her toes hyper-extending themselves to release any pent up tension.

"Ino! Come down for breakfast! Your father has some taijutsu kata that he wants to go over with you before you go to find Sakura!

Ino lazily got up and walked down the hall to the kitchen, rubbing her eyes awake, her pajamas still on.

"What?"

"Good morning, Ino."

"Good morning, okaa-san."

ooOoo

"So, wait. Let me get this straight, your mom doesn't want you to be a kunoichi even though you're apprenticed to the Slug Sannin?"

"Yeah." Sakura looked depressed. And why shouldn't she be?

"Sakura-chan!"

"Shizune-senpai?"

"There you are! You father told me that I would be able to find you at the park. Who's this?"

"This is my friend, Yamanaka Ino."

"Oh? Do you know how to use chakra yet, Ino-chan?"

"Eh? A little. Tou-san's been kind of mean on training lately, though I guess I know why now. We're at war, right? I hope we get good teams, Sakura!

"Yeah . . ." though it seemed that Sakura still wasn't over her mother's tears.

ooOoo

Amegakure was crying again. Nagato could almost hear his dead friend - whom he was using to watch the rain - angrily saying that he hated it. That he'd stop the land from crying. Nagato hated the rain now too. It was a constant reminder of what he'd lost, what he failed to save.

He could feel Konan walking up behind him, she tended to do that whenever it began to rain. Though, something seemed out of place in her gait. Nagato turned around and saw Konan's sad face.

"Nagato, there's another war. Iwa and Kumo began it, they attempted to attack Suna and Konoha was there during the chuunin exams."

Nagato - or Pein, as he liked to be called lately - nodded and looked back to the rain. So, _that's_ why the land was crying . . .

"Nagato?"

"Akatsuki will lay low for a while. We don't have enough money or resources to extract any of the tailed beasts yet. Thank you, Konan."

ooOoo

"Tsuchikage-sama!"

"What?" Onoki barked as he lifted his head from his desk filled with paperwork, one of the papers sticking to his cheek as he did . . . He had not been sleeping. He was simply resting.

"Base one-one-five has been annihilated. The replacement team came back just moments ago."

Damn. More paperwork, and the opposing side just got a bit of an advantage.

"Make a new base not too far away from it, but not too close either. We don't want them going after it again. Find out how they knew we were there!"

ooOoo

Danzo was annoyed. No. He was furious. His subordinates had come back having fulfilled their mission, and the Hokage had come back telling him the entire village was at war. He hadn't meant to help Hiruzen just yet. He'd meant to make it look as if Hiruzen had provoked the war, but that was supposed to happen _before_ the war started.

"You're dismissed."

He tapped his cane on the floor, and walked to the training ground. Somehow, he had to make Hiruzen look bad . . .

ooOoo

It was strange. If Katsue had the presence of mind to describe how she felt, she'd say it was lethargic and not a little dizzying. Everything felt heavy and yet weightless at the same time. Why couldn't she see?

Were her eyes even open? Was she still alive?

Her memories started to come back to her. She remembered the chuunin exams, her teammates, the final round, the blond kid, and the pain . . .

So, was she dead, or on a hospital bed?

It would really suck if she was dead.

Something was warm on - was it her hand? She desperately tried to move. It was infuriating how weak her body was. Her head hurt; her body ached.

But that was new . . . she could feel her body. She struggled to open her eyes, and at first they didn't. But she was a kunoichi of the sand. She had to get up!

When her eyes finally listened to her, she found herself staring at a white ceiling. And then a little girl was in front of her, her face brightly smiling.

"Shirou-nii-san, Katsue's awake!"

"What?" the voice beside her, on her left, seemed groggy and not at all happy.

"Shirou?" her voice was dry, but the sound of her voice caused Shirou to spring up, eyes wide, and attention fixed on her, "What happened?"

Shirou's expression became very sober, and if Katsue didn't know any better, she'd say there were tears in her eyes and so she grasped at another topic. Any topic.

"Who's this?" but his face remained the same.

"I'm Matsuri!"

"Katsue, there are some things you should know. The tournament's over, in fact, it's been a couple of weeks -"

"What?"

"Let me finish. That night, Kumo and Iwa attacked. Gorou . . . died as well as Matsuri's parents and we're at war with them now. All three of us were promoted to chuunin, and . . . well, the village is in bad shape. We're going to need to be doing a lot of things to fix it."

"Shirou . . ." Katsue's face must have showed her horror, and it was only intensified by an explosion not to far away from the hospital.

"What -"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Matsuri seemed to be smiling and laughing as she looked out the window, "That's just Gaara!"

"Gaara!" a voice called outside and Katsue could hear laughter.

"I didn't do anything illegal! You only said I couldn't tie dye any buildings!" the voice of one of the most feared persons in the village could be heard, laughter in his voice, "You said nothing about the floor!"

"Gaara, as in the Ichibi jinchuuriki? I thought he was mentally unstable."

"So did we all. Turns out he just needed a friend and the leaf ninja gave that to him, though he's taken to pranks. And trying to get Matsuri to be his friend."

Matsuri was giggling still, by the window.

"What's so funny?"

Matsuri turned to Katsue, a large smile on her face, "When the team from Konoha left he tie dyed the Kazekage Tower. Since then, they've been making laws saying that he can't do stuff like that but he keeps finding a way around it. Remember when he tried the playground? I think he's going for the cliff next, but who knows. Maybe they'll outlaw tie dye . . . Anyway, this time he made it spell out 'don't get mad, get glad' and 'cheer up Matsuri!' He's so nice!"

Shirou looked annoyed, but Katsue smiled. Matsuri seemed to have made things easier to cope with now that Gorou was gone. And though Katsue was trying to wrap her mind around it all, she had to admit the kid seemed like a riot.

ooOoo

Gaara saw the girl - Matsuri - smiling outside of the hospital window and had to nod to himself, he'd accomplished his own personal mission.

But, damn. The special ANBU Prank Division made just to intercept his projects was here already. They were getting good at this . . .

Why were they stopping in front of him? It wasn't as if they could grab him . . .

"What? You heard me. There was a loophole."

The ANBU's shoulders slumped, "Just go see the Kazekage."

The moment Gaara left the ANBU he had to wonder what his father wanted him for. His father had never demanded to see him directly when one of his pranks was carried out - though according to Naruto it was a good thing. Although, he still had doubts as to the validity of the advice . . .

"Otou-san, did you want to tell me that you're handing over that hat already? It's about time!"

"Gaara -"

"I mean, really, I know I'm awesome and all but -"

"Gaara, you're being promoted to genin -"

"What?"

"Will you let me finish," Silence reigned it the office for a moment as the Kazekage struggled to regain his composure.

"Well . . . are you going to finish?"

The Kazekage's fist struck the table; he was clearly annoyed.

"You will have to take a test on basic kunai and shuriken skills, and prove that you can control your sand decently. Apart from that, you're ensured a Suna hitai-ate."

Gaara smiled widely.

"Okay. Where will I wear it? Better yet, where do _you_ wear it?"

"I don't wear it, though I used to have it on my forehead. You can keep it put away. You look enough like me that people will just assume you're from Suna. Especially with the sand as your main defense."

"Oh, okay! You better watch out, I'm one step closer to that hat."

His father nodded, "Now, who's this Matsuri?"

Gaara's face lit up, and his father almost wished he hadn't asked.

ooOoo

In the land of Water, where the Mizukage and the Sanbi lived, not far from Snow Country, Zabuza of the seven swordsman was eyeing his little apprentice with curiosity. The kid was great with senbon and took information readily.

What worried Zabuza was that he wasn't very strong - physically. The kid was smart, fast, and had a large array of ninjutsu. But his stamina still wasn't all that up to par.

The kid had great potential, but he would never be a swordsman of the mist. He didn't have the build for it. Which meant that Zabuza couldn't really apprentice him.

He hated this village sometimes - or rather, he hated the management.

ooOoo

"Hey, Kurotsuchi, how are you?"

She grunted.

Well, that was a good sign. When Akatsuchi had tried, he's been bombarded with kunai. Though, that might have been because he'd insulted her and told her to get over it. Either way, Deidara was not willing to take the chance.

"You know we're at war, right?" She nodded. Well, that was another good sign. "That means," he paused for affect, and Kurotsuchi lifted her head with a dead, blank face almost putting Deidara off his speech, "as soon as we find any Konoha or Suna shinobi we can engage them in battle, right?"

"But what does that matter, if we're not strong enough to defeat them?"

Deidara smirked. And he'd just gotten her to talk; hello five hundred ryou. "Well, that just means you need to train more. After all, you're a chuunin now. You have to keep up your standards."

She rolled her eyes, but looked reassured. For the first time in weeks, Kurotsuchi left her room.

ooOoo

Iruka was the epitome of nervousness on Monday. He was going to be teaching most of the clan heirs and a couple of civilian children. As they filed into the field for their entrance papers with their parents, Iruka looked out at the crowd and smiled. It was a strained smile, but it was there.

It was this same smile that caught the little Hyuuga heir's attention.

"Iruka-san?"

Iruka looked down at the little girl and had to smile. He remembered seeing her at that shinobi tools store - was it a year ago already? Wow. Team seemed to fly.

"Hello, Hinata-chan!"

"Iruka-san?" he looked up to see the Hyuuga matriarch, Or is it Iruka-sensei now?"

Iruka smiled. These Hyuga seemed to know how to calm him down. At least he knew that one of his students didn't hate his guts.

"Yes, it's Iruka-sensei now. How's your friend? The one that was made a genin last year?"

"He's a chuunin now!" Well that was a shock - both the promotion and the girl's face, which had become animated. But, now that he thought about it, wasn't he that kid at the meeting Saturday . . .

Iruka shook his head and smiled, "Well, tell him congratulations for me, would you?"

"Hai!"

"Well, how about we get all the students inside?"

ooOoo

Tenten was the only kunoichi-hopeful that Hyuuga Neji actively sought to align with himself. And though the teacher found that strange, he wasn't willing to question it. The kid would be so difficult if he did, and it just wasn't worth the trouble. However, the Hokage had told him that they were both going to be tested to become genin within the week - something about a jounin working with them outside of school and wanting them on his team with some other kid their age that had graduated not too long before.

"Neji-kun, Tenten-chan, I have something I have to talk to you about, would you come outside with me for a moment?"

They stood, Tenten more bouncy than Neji - but then again, wasn't she always? - and stopped just outside the door of the classroom.

"The Hokage said that a jounin nominated you two to take the genin exam next month. These are the things you need to study along with the standard physical tests. Just come to school like always, and we'll take care of the rest."

Neji and Tenten looked at one another and then back at the papers being offered to them, before following the teacher back into the room.

"Neji," Tenten whispered as they sat down again and ignored the start of the lesson.

"What?"

"Do you think Gai-sensei did it to make that team that he was talking to us about?"

"Absolutely."

"So, you're ready to graduate, then . . ."

"If you do too, I think I can survive their insanity."

ooOoo

Shikamaru would have been annoyed if being annoyed wasn't so troublesome. The fact of the matter was that he preferred to keep things average in everything he did. But apparently with this war going on, him being average was not all that much of a suggestion as much as a 'get stronger, or die.'

Now, his friend Chouji was training with his dad and Shikamaru's own father was telling him that he was available for training but that he might be out on more missions than usual. And though his father said it was nothing to worry about, Shikamaru had seen his father's face.

Nara Shikaku was worried and more tired than Shikamaru had ever thought possible.

It was all so troublesome.

That was why instead of going to sleep straight away when he'd entered the Academy classroom, he'd taken the time to go through all of the papers, finding them all very simple and hardly worth the effort. He'd almost given up halfway through before he'd remembered his father's face and continued on.

Iruka-sensei had hurried through basic chakra theory and then proceeded to give them all leaves. And this was even more troublesome. He already knew how to do this.

What was the point?

And so, instead of paying any more genuine attention in the class, which his teacher had privately regarded as a miracle considering the reputation of the Nara,had fallen asleep during the leaf exercise.

ooOoo

"Team Nine and Uchiha Itachi, your final mission as a team is to escort Tsunade to Suna and retrieve your fallen teammate."

The words of the Hokage pulled Naruto out of his thoughts and he nearly had a coughing fit. But that was beside the point.

"Why?"

"The Haruno Clan is willing to pay the money for the mission. It is labeled as a B-rank, according to the mission ranking system of the last war. You'll only be escorting Tsunade, though she can fight very well herself, she is primarily traveling as a medic. She is to stabilize Haruno Ichirou, or completely heal him, so that he can return to the village."

"But . . . we just got back . . ." Naruto scratched his head in confusion.

"Yes, but we didn't have Tsunade at the time. Do you have a problem with going to Suna, Naruto?"

"What? No! I'll get to see Gaara, I just don't really understand what the whole point in coming back was if we're going back again . . ."

"It's okay, Naruto," he looked over to Hana who stood beside Genma-sensei, "We'll be fine!"

"Okay! Hey, Itachi, what about Sasuke?"

Itachi regarded the little blond for a moment, slightly amused and with a small smile on his usually blank face.

"He's training with otou-san and Shisui-nii."

"Oh, so when's he going to be a ninja?"

"When he graduates."

They were already out the door to prepare for the mission - or rather for Naruto to get his scrolls.

"And when will he graduate."

It was amazing Itachi hadn't blown up from all the questions yet.

"He'll graduate when he graduates. You know he has two elemental affinities, right?"

"What?" Naruto seemed annoyed.

"Yes. Lightning and fire."

Naruto was silent as he contemplated his dilemma.

"Wind beats lightning but strengthens fire, right?"

"Yes," Itachi had no idea where the blond was going with this.

"And water beats fire and strengthens lightning, right?" With that, it clicked in Itachi's mind and he smiled.

"Yes."

"My mom's from Uzushiogakure which was surrounded by water. I guess I should try water next, right?"

"You should. It would be a great idea."

Hana and Genma followed behind until they reached the entrance to the building and found Tsunade who looked annoyed.

"So, you'll be taking me to fix my apprentice's brother, huh?"

Naruto smiled widely. He really was oblivious to other's expressions sometimes.

"Yeah! I'm Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto! I'm going to be a better Hokage than my dad and protect this village -ttebayo!"

Tsunade stopped and stared at him for a moment. He was so much like Nawaki . . . She scoffed.

"That's a fool's dream."

"What? Take that back, you old hag!"

"What did you call me?"

Hana turned to Itachi as Genma went forward to try and break the two apart.

"Something tells me this is going to be entertaining . . ."

Itachi nodded and replied in a matter of fact tone, "Most things concerning Naruto-kun are."

Hana couldn't help it. She laughed.

"Well, they don't look to be settling things anytime soon," Genma-sensei said as he resurfaced, "Meet at the gate tomorrow, eight in the morning -"

"Assuming Naruto isn't late like that meeting Saturday." Hana interrupted and Genma-sensei nodded.

"Yes. Did you hear that Naruto, Tsunade-sama?"

A distant chorus of yeses responded and the three shook their heads, small smiles in place.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

This lady was really starting to get on Naruto's nerves. Whenever he'd finally been able to forget that she was with them, she opened her mouth.

"Pay attention, brat. How are you supposed to become Hokage if you can't even pay attention for more than five minutes."

And there she went again. He stopped, tense with annoyance and about ready to explode.

"Well, are you coming?"

He almost lunged for the old hag right then and there, but Genma-sensei stopped him with a hand on the blonde's shoulder. Grumbling and rolling his eyes, he attempted to relax by stretching his fingers out along the length of his Konoha-standard pants and rolling the stiffness out of his neck.

ooOoo

Hana didn't know what amused her more - Tsunade's goading, or Naruto's reactions. He hadn't stopped glaring at her for more than two seconds before she called his attention again. If Hana hadn't known better, she would have said that it was almost as if Tsunade-sama enjoyed Naruto's undivided attention.

As Hana continued snickering behind their backs, she surveyed her surroundings. It was so peaceful; if Hana had not actually been there in the attack on Suna, she was certain that she'd have had a hard time believing that they were at war.

But, in those few short few weeks since the exams, she'd been a hell of a lot more jumpy than before.

"Are you alright, Hana-san?"

Itachi's voice was level and calm, but damn. It'd caught her off guard and almost caused her to trip as she hesitated in her tree-jumping.

So much for 'surveying her surroundings.'

"Itachi."

"Yes, Hana-san."

"Don't ever do that again."

She swore she saw him smirk out of the corner of her eye, but his voice betrayed nothing.

"Do what, Hana-san?"

"Don't sneak up on me."

Itachi seemed to pause, and this time, Hana swore that some measure of amusement crept into his voice. "Maybe you should learn to pay attention to your surroundings more. You're almost as bad as Naruto-kun."

_Damn you, Itachi._

ooOoo

Tsunade had no idea why she found annoying the little blond so satisfying. It was just . . . he looked so much like Nawaki and had both Nawaki and Dan's spirit – their dream.

"Hey, baa-chan, why don't you do something useful?" She stopped, tense and annoyed, waiting for him to continue. "Like, why don't you heal Hayate-sensei?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the brat, "He's not here right now, and we need to heal your teammate."

Naruto tensed.

It was weird. Now that she'd said it, it made it seem so much more real. They were going to go heal Ichirou, and though Team Nine had been completely promoted, they were still a team. Though they wouldn't be going on any more missions together, they would still be able to get together every once in awhile.

"Why do you even want to be Hokage, it's a fool's dream," those words sounded harsher out loud than in her head.

"Well, then I'll be a fool like my parents. I'm going to surpass my dad and be the best Hokage ever, and I'll make my kaa-san proud and be the best jinchuuriki ever! And, I never want to have something bad happen to my friends . . . I can't let them die." His words had died down after the initial bravado.

Tsunade audibly scoffed, but felt her heart thaw slightly.

"Hmph, just because you were able to learn one of your dad's jutsu doesn't mean you can master them just like that. I heard from Jiraiya-baka that you're learning the Rasengan. But, I bet you can't master it by the time we get back to Konoha. I'll bet you this necklace over here."

Tsunade knew she was pushing it and knew subconsciously that she _wanted_ him to win this bet. No matter how she thought of it, that was why she was betting the necklace. She didn't want to be wrong anymore. She wanted to hope - to put her trust in just one more person.

And that thought scared her.

So, she ignored it and smirked as the little blond scowled at her.

"I'll win that girly necklace from you and make you eat your words! No one challenges a Namikaze-Uzumaki and walks away without taking it all back!"

Behind him, Hana was shaking with laughter and Itachi was smirking.

"Good ole Naruto," Hana muttered.

ooOoo

Matsuri really wanted to have at least some semblance of a conversation with Gaara, but with all the pranks he did - that greatly cheered her up - she hadn't been able to say one word to him. He was always being chased by the ANBU.

She remembered when her parents used to tell her about the Sand Spirit - Shukaku - and how he - Gaara being possessed - was bloodthirsty. She wanted to ask him about that and so many other things. Why did he go out of his way to cheer _her_ up of all people?

She had gone to the park early that morning hoping to catch him before he made his round of morning pranks. The sky was light blue and the desert of Kaze no Kuni was still cool in the pre-dawn hours. No sound could be heard.

And then she saw it - a small red flash on the corner of her vision.

"Gaara?" she called out - it wasn't a yell, but it seemed like it in the quiet of the morning.

"Eh?" he seemed to have frozen, "Damnit. Foiled again." He didn't seem all that disappointed though, "I'll just have to step up my training!"

"Gaara-san?" Matsuri hesitated, because he seemed to be on a tirade of sorts with himself.

"You know, Shukaku, you need to lighten up and enjoy the finer things in life. Like this purple paint!"

Matsuri giggled at his words - they were amusing. And this time, he turned around, seemingly confused and the expression on his face caused her to burst into gales of laughter.

"Matsuri-chan?" he seemed shy all of a sudden and her smile dimmed.

"Gaara-san, Why do you go around playing pranks on the village?"

His feet shifted against each other, and he seemed almost scared about what her reaction would be.

"Well, if you don't like it -"

"Oh, no! I love it! I'm just . . . why?"

"Well, you looked sad . . . and you kind of remind me of Hinata-chan!" He said this with a big smile on his face - most of the fear of rejection wiped away with a new found confidence.

But still . . . "Hinata-chan?" she wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.

"Yeah! Naruto and Hinata-chan are friends I made from Konoha. Naruto was my first friend and Hinata-chan was his. Would you like to be my Hinata-chan, Matsuri-chan?"

The logic confused her. Wasn't Naruto his "Hinata-chan" then? Her silence must have discouraged him though. He was fidgeting.

"I mean," he looked down again, "I guess you don't have to, it's just that Naruto's from Konoha . . . and . . ."

Matsuri smiled slightly, "Thank you, Gaara-kun." He perked up at the more familiar suffix and she continued, "I'd be happy to be your friend."

His smile nearly blinded her - it was so white.

"Really? Great! I've got this great prank idea!"

Matsuri almost pitied the ANBU.

ooOoo

"So, where's Matsuri right now?" Katsue was still stuck in bed - the injuries from the chuunin exams were still healing and though the doctor's said she'd be fine, they wanted to keep her in the hospital for the next week for 'observation.'

She was pretty sure they just wanted more money for hospital bills - and because of the waivers, she knew she'd be the one paying for it. She really just wanted to get out of this bad smelling money pit.

But at least Shirou brought her real food for lunch every day.

"She's by the playground. I think." His face was blank, not as energetic as it usually was.

"Shirou . . ." Katsue really didn't want to talk about it, but Shirou needed to hear it, "Gorou would be happy that you were going on with your life. He wouldn't want you to be so angry."

"Katsue, don't blame anyone - I didn't even see who threw the damn kunai, I just . . ." Katsue watched Shirou as his shoulders fell and he walked to the window. He seemed to like looking out there nowadays. "I just need time."

"Shirou-"

"Katsue, I need you to promise me that you'll take care of yourself if I'm not around." His words stopped her from breathing for a moment. Was he -

"Shirou, are you leaving?"

The incredulous inquiry on his face caused all the tension in Katsue to disappear as giggles filled her up.

"I'm serious, Katsue! We were supposed to cover each other's backs and now . . . Our team will never be the same again. I want you to -"

"Stop worrying so much, Shirou. I thought of Gorou as a brother too, but that doesn't mean that you can hide me in a steel fortress. It's okay; I understand. Just . . . don't go someplace I can't follow. We're teammates, right?"

Shirou looked a little unresponsive at first before he smiled and nodded.

"You know, I think Matsuri's good for you."

"Yeah, she's the little sister I never had."

"Hmm," her knowing smile sometimes annoyed him to no end. "And when are you parents and Saburou coming back?"

"They should be back within the week." Damn. She shouldn't have brought it up. He looked apprehensive and worried now.

BOOM!

Shirou turned his face to gaze out the window at the sound and his mouth quirked into a smirk before he chuckled.

"What? What happened?" Katsue was really annoyed with the hospitals yet again. Couldn't they position the room closer to the window?

"Then it would be easier for Shinobi to get away, Katsue."

Had she said that out loud? Damn.

"Gaara!" many voices rose in the aftermath of the explosion as the sand settled down.

"I didn't do it! I'm innocent! It wasn't me, I swear! I have an alibi!"

Shirou began chuckling again. "That kid . . ."

"What did he do this time?"

"There's confetti and civilian women's undergarments everywhere." Shirou's laughter stopped at Katsue's glare registered in his brain. And then he scowled. "You just don't think it's funny because you can't see it." His arms crossed his chest and he pouted as her glare didn't waver.

ooOoo

Saburou would have been amused - and somewhat confused - at the sight of Suna decked in underwear and confetti if he had not been preoccupied with holding his mother up and limping to the village entrance.

"Saburou?"

"His mother seemed to be waking up.

"Come on, kaa-san. We're almost home." He hefted her dead weight onto his shoulder a bit more securely before continuing on.

"What happened?"

"Tou-san told me to get you out of there and make sure you got home, so that's what I'm doing."

"What? Where is your father?"

"He bought us enough time."

"What? No," her voice was less than a whimper and Saburou felt his mother go limp at his words. She'd lost too much blood and this seemed too much information for her to comprehend at the moment.

So, he grunted and plodded along - reaching the entrance of the village at long last - and came upon two blonds, three brunettes, and three grey dogs.

ooOoo

"I'm telling you, lady! Just leave me alone, and I'll be able to get it down in no time!"

"No you won't. You're six years old. Normal people would just be entering the academy." He really wanted to wipe that smirk off her face.

"Yeah, well when have I ever been normal? I can defy gravity!"

"Do you even know what gravity is?"

. . .

"Ha! You don't do you?"

Must not attack resident medic. Must not attack resident medic. Screw this. Hana was a medic too - she could take care of anything if Tsunade-baa-chan was six feet under!

And Naruto tackled Tsunade to the ground - taking advantage of her heels as they reached the large gate that led to Sunagakure.

"Who are you?" the voice was tired and raspy and caught the attention of the shinobi - though none of them, save Naruto, seemed surprised at their arrival.

"We are Konoha shinobi here on a mission to stabilize and if possible, heal one of our shinobi and take them home."

The shinobi with a kunoichi of Suna on his back seemed to relax. "Okay. Then you have a medic. Please, my kaa-san was hit by a fuuma shuriken, and -"

Tsunade seemed to stiffen.

"I'm not exactly the best for this job." Her breaths were coming shallowly and Naruto could make out a bit of blood.

Why didn't she heal the other lady, then? "What kind of medic are you?"

But this time, Tsunade-baa-chan didn't react. She was truly frozen, and Hana was the one who hurried to look over the wound.

What was wrong with baa-chan?

ooOoo

Hana had followed the Suna shinobi and his mother with Itachi not too far behind while she worked to keep the woman stable. The blood had dried up a bit, but she knew that Tsunade would not have been able to treat this. The rumors seemed to be true - damn it.

"Hana, it's alright. Naruto will drag her out of it."

Hana nodded, but wasn't completely certain. Naruto was annoyingly persistent, but Tsunade had injuries that went deeper than that. And she wasn't sure that Tsunade wanted to be pulled out of her depression.

ooOoo

Hinata had been taking meticulous notes on things that she already knew when she caught sight of two boys arguing over the superiority of bugs versus dogs. Only the one arguing for bugs was less flamboyant. He was simply staring passively and saying, "No. The Aburame kikaichuu are superior. Why? Because we spend more time bonding with our nest."

"But, your insects are a bunch, it's different when you just have one - you're more attached and a better team! Stop being so particular, Shino!"

"Ano, I think they both have their strengths and weaknesses."

They both turned to look at her, slightly stunned at her intrusion into their conversation. But then they seemed to gather themselves up.

"I'm Inuzuka Kiba, and this is Aburame Shino! What's your name?"

"Ah, I'm . . . Hyuuga Hinata."

"Well, Hinata-san, what does your clan do?"

"The correct way to say that is 'what is their main focus?' Kiba."

"And, I've told you before, Shino! You don't have to be so particular."

"Ano, my family focuses on taijutsu with our eyes."

"Your eyes?"

"My byakugan. My clan's doujutsu. We can see chakra and through things."

"Oh."

Both boys were silent before they exchanged glance and looked back at her. "Welcome to Team Trackers."

ooOoo

Chouji was flabbergasted at all these kids. The only people he remotely knew were Shikamaru and Ino, and that was because their dads would take turns babysitting them. It was lonely a lot of the time, and Chouji found himself retreating to himself during lunch time every day the entire week.

Lately, it seemed that the more he tried to play with the other kids, the more mean they got - his team would always lose.

Ino - she was popular. Shikamaru - he didn't really care what other people said and seemed to be one of the best kids in the class. As for himself - he wasn't as thin as the others. And he wasn't that great at playing ninja. But, he still tried to play with them.

But, maybe he could try again . . . "Hey, can I play ninja with you guys?"

He was sorry he'd asked. They didn't bother to tell him 'no' nicely. They grimaced and said snootily, or at least he imagined it was snootily, "Whoever has you on their team always loses. We don't want to be on your team! You always lose and you're so fat and slow that it makes the game boring."

This was why he didn't like being around other people.

"But, we'll have uneven teams if he doesn't play."

The words were music to his ears, someone actually wanted him to play - even if it was only to keep the teams even.

"I'd rather have one less player than have _him_ on my team. At least then we'd have a chance of winning."

Ouch. Chouji tried to put a smile on his face - he really did. But, the words hurt.

Chouji began to walk away when he turned around. Someone was following him. Well, if they wanted to hit him while he was down, he'd have to hit them first.

"Hey, want to do some cloud watching?"

Choji stopped and stared at Shikamaru. Why would he want to be his friend?

"Um . . . yes . . ."

"Come on, then. I'll show you my favorite place to cloudwatch then."

He . . . he could get used to this . . . having friends.

ooOoo

Haku eyed Zabuza's apprentice with unease. This kid, who could turn into water at the drop of a hat, which was , now that he thought about it, a great advantage with his hyouton, was pretty freaky with his sharp teeth. But, then again, he was pretty sure that Zabuza had sharp teeth too . . .

This guy . . . had a weird look in his eye - kind of like Zabuza-sama only less controlled.

It was creepy.

"So, Haku-chan, you doing anything later?"

And the image of another demon of the mist was shattered for the eight year old hyouton user.

"I'm a boy." Hozoki-san looked disgusted with himself.

ooOoo

The Tsuchikage scowled at the map. His forces had made headway into Kusa and Bird Country, but Ame seemed impenetrable. It was as if something could sense all the foreigners in a land and was able to quickly eradicate them.

It was infuriating.

But, it was alright. His ninja were passing through and he even had some infiltrators in Kiri that said that they were on some bloodline purge or something of the like.

If only they could begin taking hostages again. That would be great and would really tick off that smug bastard of a Hokage.

If only, if only . . .

ooOoo

Nagato frowned at Konan. This was the fourth Iwa platoon that had attempted to infiltrate Ame. Konoha at least had the decency to send messenger hawks to inform them of the possibility of foreign ninja coming in - and not attempting to do it. But this was getting ridiculous. Nagato actually found himself siding with Konoha in this a bit - and he _hated_ Konoha.

Yet, Konoha wasn't invading. Iwa was.

"Pein, perhaps we should -"

"We're leaving this war alone."

"Then maybe we should break what hold Madara has on the Mizukage. We should at least be able to allow them that, Pein. If we don't have the resources to take this war on yet, then someone else has to. Kiri is a wonderful tool to tip the balance."

The sound of the sky crying could be heard above his heavy, labored breathing, and Konan almost bit her lip at how quiet he was when he nodded.

"I'll visit the Mizukage next week."

ooOoo

Gaara had said goodbye to Matsuri at noon - she said she needed to go home for lunch and then focus on the stuff her nii-sans wanted her to practice. Her whole new family were shinobi - a sharp contrast to her first civilian family, and she wanted to be like them a lot. They were brave and smart and strong and everything she wished she could be. So, she'd told Gaara about how she was going to become a shinobi and instead of laughing at her like she thought he would - he smiled and said, "I'll help you!."

But now, Gaara had nothing to do. He was slightly bored with the pranks and Shukaku had been more grumpy lately - he kept saying something about ruining his reputation. And what was with the sand lately?! It was rubbing him all the wrong ways! He thought sand was his friend! His friend!

But, Gaara was determined to bring Shukaku out of the darkness - even if he was kicking and screaming the whole way.

"Gaara?" He turned around. He knew that voice . . .

"Naruto?"

For yes, there he was. "What are you doing here?"

"Glad to see you're excited that I'm here. Baa-chan here's is going to fix Ichirou!

"Really! Well what are you waiting for! Let's go!

ooOoo

Tsunade did not go back to normal quickly. It took Naruto ten minutes of dragging her to the playground where they met Gaara before she calmed down enough to not be a zombie.

Genma-sensei had trailed behind him and let him do all the work - but that was okay. Genma-sensei was a lazy bastard anyway. It wasn't like it was new news.

And they got to the hospital in good time. Hana and Itachi were still with that Suna-nin and his mother - which made Gaara sad to hear. He didn't like the thought of anyone in his village getting hurt by someone else. And neither, it seemed did Shukaku - who believed he was the only one that could hurt anyone in _his_ village.

But, the point was that Ichirou was laying in a bed in this sandy hospital and Naruto couldn't really bring himself to dwell on that too much. He was anxious to get Ichirou back to Konoha.

ooOoo

Tsunade was trying not to think of all that blood on that nin. It was working because she was focusing on Haruno Ichirou and was able to not think about it. It was a relief.

But, the more she examined Ichirou, the more worried she became. Not only was he in a coma, but the chemicals in his brain weren't stabilizing on their own. Tsunade could make him stable for transportation, but he would be in a coma until his brain could balance itself out. And then there was a cyst in the back of his brain. It wasn't just that he was in a coma. He was paralyzed. It was a miracle he'd survived the blow to his head during the invasion.

Tsunade didn't have enough data yet to make sure he could get better quickly and the problem with Suna was that their medical equipment was not as advanced as Konoha's - which she really wished wasn't so, since they were allies and all.

But, this would need to be drained in a clean place and they couldn't let him hit his head again. He might die if that happened.

And her newest apprentice would be broken - like she herself was. No, she had to save him; she had to stabilize him.

ooOoo

Konoha was quieter in the afternoon glow than usual. People were still shopping in the market district but less kids were running around playing ninja. The kids ages six to twelve were more serious than usual - the Academy had been drilling them for a while and stressing the importance of their focus - because they were at war and war was bloody and people died. And if they didn't pay attention, they could cause the person next to them to die, or their best friend, their teammate, their sensei, their families, or themselves.

So, no one was playing ninja - they were training to actually _be_ ninja. Even the civilian kids.

Only four and five year olds - blissfully unaware of the chaos outside the village gates played ninja.

And so when some of the senior shinobi of the village saw a messenger hawk make its way to the tower, they tensed.

ooOoo

Hiruzen Sarutobi eyed the document from the outpost with an annoyed expression flashing across his face. So, Kumo believed they could get past their shinobi. It wasn't an urgent message - the invading teams had been forced to retreat - but medics were needed at all the outposts. It helped that Shizune had taken to teaching many of the medic classes and the medic division was expanding, but there were still not enough.

And now, they needed more offensive shinobi to ward off Kumo.

And this other messenger hawk from Suna said that iwa was getting through Grass and Bird, and it was just not a very good outlook at the moment.

He'd sent out more shinobi just an hour ago, but he was still bothered by how many shinobi the enemy had. Even with the last war having ended three years ago for Kumo, they still seemed to have so many shinobi.

He needed another team. He knew Shisui and Itachi were brilliant and perhaps he could use that to his advantage. And then there were those three - Naruto, Sasuke, and that girl that wanted to be a medic.

They would be great ninja in a few years.

And Tenzou was brilliant as well.

Kakashi was going to be a teacher, so it would be a moot point to make him part of a team that was built for strength. But, if he could make a brilliant three-man team.

With Inuzuka Hana as a medic, they couldn't go wrong. The girl just needed more training as a medic - which she could easily get.

Yes, Hiruzen had the perfect idea for a team - Team Tenzou.

ooOoo

Tenten was frustrated. Her attempts at medical jutsu weren't all that great, and she wasn't as much of a taijutsu fanatic as Gai-sensei, Lee-san, or Neji. She was just Tenten - the girl that liked sharp, pointy knives, swords, and anything that she could wield with her own two hands.

And yet, she wasn't as good as she wanted to be yet.

It was infuriating. It was frustrating. It was - she needed to practice more. Her movements weren't as precise as Neji's or Lee's, but they were strong and they worked for her. Which was really all that she cared about. Really.

Tenten sighed. She was taking the graduation exam soon. With Neji. And she really liked the fact that Neji talked to her as if she mattered. He didn't with anyone else.

And, really how bad could the exam be if a five year old could pass it?

ooOoo

Naruto was not happy. Tsunade-baa-chan had told him that she couldn't fix Ichirou here. And that they needed to be careful when they took him back to Konoha. And that they had walk at a civilian pace back to Konoha - so that Ichirou's cyst - or whatever it was - didn't rupture.

Gaara had told him lots of stuff that helped him get his mind off of his teammate's vegetable-like state. It didn't work. He was glad that Shukaku wasn't being a bastard anymore, and that Gaara had found Matsuri - his Hinata-chan - but it seemed that Naruto would have to wait a bit longer for his family to become complete again.

And he was not happy about that.

He would gladly carry Ichirou, but he was still worried. What if Ichirou never woke up and died in this paralyzed state?

Sakura would be heart broken, he knew. And Team Nine would never be able to function the same way again - even if all they were doing in an official capacity from now on was meeting for lunch or dinner.

It just didn't seem fair. Why did Ichirou have to be sick - Tsunade had said that this would have happened eventually and that this had only sped it up - so why? Why was the world out to get Ichirou?

Was it fate, like Neji-teme said? Was it simply luck of the draw?

Naruto was having a hard time reconciling all this to himself. Was it fate? All of it?

ooOoo

Sasuke sat in the Academy - staring at his sensei, and frowned. They'd be done learning everything that they needed to learn to graduate within six months and if they couldn't graduate by then, there'd be incessant repetition.

Sasuke wasn't sure he liked the idea of doing the same thing over and over again. It sounded boring.

And made Sasuke want to graduate quickly just to spite it.

It seemed like a great idea - and would help Sasuke in his next spar with Naruto - but how to get fast? That kid was faster than anything and he needed to find a way to combat that speed.

The Raikage was pretty fast . . .

ooOoo

Naruto and Itachi had Ichirou's head and feet while the Haimaru brother's had his back and legs as they walked back through the village gates as week later.

Naruto had succeeded in getting the necklace off of that old hag - he'd let out all his frustrations on training while they had downtime - and now sported the first Hokage's necklace - similar to how Dan had worn it.

And it made Tsunade's chest ache. she told herself it was just gas, but that couldn't be the only reason.

They passed the gate and made their way to the hospital while Genma-sensei signed in at the Hokage tower.

And when that was done, Naruto made his way back to ANBU headquarters - to his room that Kakashi had shown him - it was such a long time ago.

And yet, here he was a chuunin. It seemed unnatural, now that he looked around at his standard-issue ANBU lodging. His room. His home. That this was all his and yet not. When he left, this room would belong to someone else.

His parents had had a home too. That was where he should have grown up. Where his kids - if he ever had any - would grow up. Where he should live. Because then it wouldn't be a stranger that lived in the 'home.'

It hurt. He didn't know why it hurt.

Perhaps it was because Ichirou - his permanently annoyed teammate - wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. Perhaps it was because his teammate had something in his brain that kept him still -that stopped him from being the amazing ninja that Naruto knew he was.

And it hurt.

Naruto truly felt like a child in that moment. And so, he cried.

ooOoo

Itachi met Shisui at the Hokage tower as the sun finished setting, and the sky remained in a twilight state. Dusk was always beautiful in Konoha. But, lately, as night fell, the shinobi of the village became tense. It wasn't rational. Enemy ninja had to go through all of fire country, and past the outposts. But, most of the shinobi of the village were veterans of the last war and were high-strung.

Itachi and Shisui didn't say a word as they went up to the Hokage's office. A few jounin were just leaving with mission scrolls in their hands, and chuunin were trying to get the paperwork done so that they could go home.

But, Itachi and Shisui? No. They had been summoned. Which was not always a good thing.

ooOoo

"Yes." The smoke coming out of the Hokage's pipe nearly caused Itachi to choke.

"Why us?"

"Because you're both brilliant. And having two Uchiha and someone who can use the First Hokage's jutsu will make a formidable team. And it was what the village was built upon. Tenzou may not be a Senju, but he does have some of Hashirama's DNA. I think you three could make a great team."

The Uchiha turned to one another and then to Tenzou - he was unmasked, but they could tell he was in ANBU.

"Would you take the invitation and join ANBU under Tenzou?"

The two Uchiha seemed to weigh the offer for a moment before they both nodded.

ooOoo

Sakura stared at the fish with determination trying to keep it alive. It was difficult and she'd only started it today, but she was determined to get it right.

She'd been reading non-stop about the human body and medicinal plants, but none of that was good enough yet, because she couldn't put it into practice. And . . . she needed to. For her big brother.

ooOoo

Deidara sat on top of one of the walls of Iwa contemplating art and counting up all the money he had. There had to be some way to make art bigger and more efficient. And more like an explosion. Because exploding tags weren't enough and his chakra would have been a perfect conductor for the art. But there was no way to put his chakra into the clay so completely.

He almost dared to say that it was impossible. But, nothing was ever impossible when art was involved. He just needed to find a way to do it. He needed to find a way to amplify his art.

It was time to head to the archives.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi was finding that she was calmer without that infuriating blond around. His face just made her so angry. She felt better now that she hadn't been near him for a while though.

And looking back at everything that had happened in Suna, she felt slightly detached. That psycho couldn't have been her. She had been acting more insane than Deidara-nii.

It seemed so strange that now without the chance of killing the blond, she should be so calm. Kurotsuchi had talked to her dad about it.

He said to take it out on the one that took her revenge from her - the Kyuubi. _It_ had made it impossible for her to exact her revenge on the Kiiroi Senkou, the Yondaime Hokage.

And in focusing on that, Kurotsuchi found herself more calm. It was almost laughable. She couldn't take on the Kyuubi. The thought was ridiculous. But, comforting in its own way.

ooOoo

Kirabi's team were sparring. They were on down time before the Raikage got sent out again.

And Kirabi? He was sulking about being stuck in the village again.

The whole team was practicing their kenjutsu with one another and though they were set to leave for the border the next day as back up for the advancing teams, they weren't slacking off. They'd get twelve hours of rest and then they'd go offer support. But besides that, they were fine with working their butts off.

ooOoo

Tsunade studied Ichirou's chart with growing annoyance. He'd be fine - if he were a civilian. But he was a ninja, and so they had higher health standards. The inflammation in the chuunin's brain had diminished slightly - but Tsunade attributed that to the more stable climate of fire country - it wasn't really hot in the afternoon and freezing at night like the desert.

But, he was a ninja. A cyst in the brain was very dangerous and there was really no way Tsunade could perform an operation like that. There would be too much blood. She also knew that no one else was qualified to do it.

So, Tsunade was at a dilemma. And she just didn't know what to do. She could end his career right then and there and save his family the heart ache of losing him, or she could give him back his life. It was really a hard decision for Tsunade to make.

She was still beyond annoyed that that kid had mastered the rasengan, albeit with a clone and he really wanted to learn it one-handed, and she'd lost her grandfather's necklace. So, there was probably no chance that she'd see this kid as Nawaki or Dan.

But, the blood. That was what stopped her every time.

_Sorry, Sakura, Ichirou, Naruto-baka. I can't do it._

ooOoo

Neji stared at the hitai-ate in his hands as he walked beside Tenten to their meeting with Gai-sensei. It was a nice feeling - almost as if he were free. Tenten walked beside him, and though she twirled her kunai in a dangerously flippant manner, it didn't really bother him. It was comforting - her presence.

As he hesitantly brought the cloth to his forehead he allowed himself time to reflect on his home life.

It wasn't so bad. His father was always praising him for the things that he did right. He was always getting approving nods from the elders, and when he sneaked off to train without them, he wasn't reprimanded as some of the other Branch members of the family. He was almost the Prince of the Branch family.

And it wasn't so bad, reflecting back on how life could have been had his father not been the twin brother of the clan head.

Even Hinata-sama was nice to him.

"Neji, are you alright?"

Neji was brought back to reality. He had just graduated from the academy with his best friend.

"Yes. I'm fine, just thinking."

"Ah," she adopted a concerned look, and he immediately became suspicious, "Does it hurt? You shouldn't think too hard, Neji! You'll get headaches and be useless to Lee and me on a mission," she stuck out her tongue and he rolled his eyes at her childishness.

Though it was one of the things he liked about her, it was also one of the things he _didn't_ like about her. But, he guessed that was what friends and teammates were for - to get under your skin in such a way that you'd miss them if they stopped.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Team Gai was one of the most efficient genin teams in the village, but also one of the most annoying. And really, it was mostly the fault of the team members clad in green spandex - on both accounts.

Not to say that the other two members of the team were dull dead weights. The kunoichi of the team was quite headstrong, and the other teammate was the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan. They were just . . . less flamboyant about it all.

And they made a funny picture, together like that in front of the Hokage waiting for another mission. The Hokage almost felt bad for the other two non-beasts.

Gai, in the meantime, was excited. He had gotten a full team before Kakashi. And he had great pride in his star pupil. The other two students - Neji and Tenten - made him proud too, but Lee . . . well Lee was the only one that seemed to grasp the flames of youth, Gai had been ecstatic. And then he discovered that the boy couldn't mold his chakra properly. The boy had been crushed, but still wanted to be a ninja.

And it was that determination that inspired Gai - more than his youth and enthusiasm. It was his determination to be his best, despite his handicaps, that were what made Gai happy that he'd chosen Lee - his own little prodigy.

It was one thing to be naturally disposed to the ninja arts and master them. It was quite another to be closed off from two ninja arts and still become a ninja. Lee gave new meaning to youth. Lee showed that _anyone_ could be a ninja if they had enough drive.

"Now, let's see . . . we have a mission to do the groceries for the Uchiha clan as they are busy with other missions for the village, we have a mission to track down Tora the cat, reinforce the walls of Konoha, or copy scrolls in the Library to send to Suna. Which do you all want?" the Hokage asked, taking his pipe out of his mouth for a moment.

"Oh, maybe the mission with the cat!" the little green monster cried out with obvious enthusiasm.

Neji looked less than pleased.

"Um, I think reinforcing the village walls will be more beneficial to the village, don't you think so Lee?" Tenten offered a small smile on her face as her two friends calmed down. Lee seemed almost thoughtful at her words, and Neji seemed relieved.

"That sounds like a great idea, Tenten-chan!" Gai-sensei boomed as he took the mission scroll from the Hokage and beamed, assuring him and all the chuunin present that all the imperfections in the wall would be nonexistent by the time his team was finished. "It will be as if they were never even there! The wall will look brand new!"

And, oh goodness, the Hokage almost felt sorry for Gai's team.

ooOoo

Naruto had a free day, and Kakashi-nii - sensei, Naruto silently reminded himself - was off on an ANBU mission to visit the allies that Konoha had in the smaller countries. They were mostly allies of non-aggression, like the one they had with Amegakure, but Taki was sympathetic. At least, Naruto was moderately sure they were.

And since Naruto had a free day, he was spending it training with Sasuke at the Uchiha compound, though some Uchiha were moving out of the compound lately, for some reason.

Naruto didn't understand it, but it was mostly the newer ninja of the clan, the teens and such.

And it was during that training, it was mostly training in taijutsu and ninjutsu - with Naruto's clones, that Naruto noticed that Sasuke seemed distracted.

"Do you have any idea what Tsunade-baa-chan would say about your moping if she could see you?"

Sasuke snorted, or maybe it was that annoyingly infuriating grunt of his, but didn't say anything.

"She'd say you're a poor excuse for a ninja and say that you would never be Ho- police chief."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at that remark and kicked a kunai into the air by hitting it at just the right angle and catching it by the handle.

"Show off," Sasuke heard Naruto mutter under his breath, but didn't comment.

"I was just thinking about how fast you are, and how I can become faster." Naruto seemed intrigued but quickly smirked.

"Well, we both know the only one that ever rivaled my dad for speed was the Raikage, so unless you have some way of copying it . . . you're stuck watching my back." and with that, Naruto stuck out his tongue and continued trying to get the water out of the leaf and into the bowl next to him.

"Well," replied Sasuke with a smirk, "I _do_ have the sharingan. And I was thinking about asking Itachi to help me work out the lightning armor . . ."

Naruto looked back up at Sasuke a frown on his face, "Yeah, but neither of you has seen him do it . . ."

Sasuke nodded his head. "You know what I never understood?"

"What?" Naruto had turned his attention back to the leaf.

"Iwa and Kumo both have Hiraishin Kunai in the offices of their Kage - or so my brother says, from what the spies in ANBU say. They think they don't work anymore, I heard. We could totally prank them . . . and they wouldn't know a thing."

Naruto's eyes were wide, and a large mischievous smile began to break across his face.

"You . . . are a genius." Sasuke smirked back.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Except that my dad's chakra is in the kunai, so it won't be as secure a connection you idiot! We could end up in the middle of a jounin meeting or a - you should see the look on your face."

The look on Sasuke's face was enough to make Naruto fall on the floor and Sasuke scowled.

"I didn't mean for you to actually say something!"

Naruto just laughed harder.

ooOoo

The Fire Daimyou looked to his wife sadly. Her cat - Tora - had run away again. And he had a meeting to attend - video chat - with the Daimyou of Wind.

"Dear, just get another genin team to find your little kitten. It shouldn't be too hard."

"But, my baby left me again. What if she gets hurt? What if she breaks a nail? What if the other animals hurt my precious little baby?"

"Sweetheart, nothing's happened to Tora before. She should be fine. Now, I have to talk things over with the Daimyou of Kaze no Kuni, so . . ."

But his wife just kept crying.

Was there no relief? Stupid wars. The last one had only ended three years ago. The Hokage had never really given him a straight answer as to why they couldn't give in to Kumo's demands, he'd never even gotten a straight answer as to what they'd wanted.

The Hokage had said something about refusing to extinguish the will of fire.

The Fire Daimyou didn't quite understand it, but he accepted it. Besides, that little boy in the exams at Suna reminded him of Yondaime - his advisors told him the boy was the Yondaime's son. And really, with the Yondaime's son, they couldn't exactly lose could they? The kid was practically destined to be Hokage.

And future Hokages never lost.

ooOoo

Yagura had worked very hard to become the Mizukage. But, since then, everything had become sort of hazy. Deep down, he was horrified at how his country - his home - was destroying itself, but . . . something was weird about his body. Sanbi was acting up - he didn't like what Yagura was doing either.

It was as Yagura sat at his desk - attempting to break through this haze - though he was still pretty sure that he was his own man, that the orange haired man appeared.

His reaction time wasn't very fast. The Orange man quickly grabbed him and sent a pulse of chakra through him - and then the haze was gone.

"What?"

"I took the genjutsu off of you. Be wary of the masked man. His sharingan will grab you again."

"Why?" and now, Yagura was angry, though it wasn't showing on his face or in his voice.

"Konoha and Suna are at war with Iwa and Kumo. I do not want Ame to get so caught up in the middle."

Yagura stared at the Orange haired intruder with caution.

"And you want me to do something about it?"

"Well, your country is already going into ruins, it wouldn't take much more to topple it over - in fact, I'm pretty sure if I killed you, there would be plenty others to make a grab for the hat."

Yagura blinked then straightened, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Get to the point."

"Just remember Ame when you do something about the world around you. I'll make regular checks to make sure you're not under the genjutsu again."

"Why do you care about Kiri?"

"Oh, I don't. I care about Ame, and right now, Ame is not getting into the war - but you will be. Side with Konoha and Suna."

And the Orange haired man disappeared leaving behind a confused - but no longer hazy-brained - Yagura.

ooOoo

Chouji stared at Shikamaru as Shikamaru actually participated in the Academy's daily run. It was weird. Before they had entered the Academy, Shikamaru could barely be bothered to even wake up long enough to eat.

Yet, here Shikamaru was, actively attempting to pay attention in class.

Someone call the Hokage; the World was ending. Chouji tried to keep to himself - and his chips - but the fact that Shikamaru was so motivated was unnerving and because of that, Chouji was so worried that he wouldn't be good enough to back Shikamaru up. What if whatever he did ended up hurting his only friend?

So, Chouji reached into his chip bag, took the last one, placed it in his mouth, and stood up. He couldn't let Shikamaru get hurt. He had to make sure he wasn't a burden. And really, how hard was it to motivate yourself if even a Nara could do it?

ooOoo

Ino looked up at her father as she walked her home from the Academy. He looked pensive, almost tense.

"What's wrong, daddy?"

Yamanaka Inoichi looked down at his daughter, but his worried expression did not leave. He didn't seem about to say anything either anytime soon. So, Ino continued to talk - she had a pretty good idea as to why he was like this anyway. Sakura had clued her in.

"Is it the war?"

Her father's eyes turned sad now, and the mixture of sadness and worry was so heart wrenching that Ino felt her throat nearly close up. It was painful. Like a cramp, only not.

"Yes, Ino. It's about the war. Promise me that you'll try very hard not to die. A parent should never have to bury their children."

She nodded. She couldn't bring herself to do much else.

ooOoo

The Shinobi Hospital was incredibly busy in wartime. Shinobi weren't coming in in critical condition in hordes, out on the field they were being treated until they were stable, and so Sakura assumed that they were probably more busy than she was. And she was incredibly busy. When she wasn't moving supplies for shipment to the front lines, in the Academy, or studying with Shizune-senpai, she was sleeping. She wanted to just graduate.

It would give her more time to sleep and study medical ninjutsu.

"Oh! Sakura-chan?" Sakura lifted her head that had been resting on the box that she's just placed on the metal rack set to be loaded onto a wagon headed for the medics at the border of Grass.

It was Shizune-senpai.

"Yes, what is it, senpai?"

"Um . . . Tsunade-sama and the team your parents hired are back and -"

Sakura didn't wait to hear anything else, she dashed out of the room headed straight for the reception desk.

ooOoo

It was so dark. And strange. He felt . . . almost weightless. And there were voices around him. "Yes, the cyst . . . impossible . . . a nin- . . . his career . . ."

"But surely . . . something . . . make . . ."

"Not . . . I'll have to . . . and then . . ."

And the voices disappeared and Ichirou was alone in the darkness. Again. What had happened? He wasn't quite sure. All he knew was the darkness and those broken phrases. Had they been talking bout him?

He was pretty sure they were, he vaguely registered being lifted before he was out again. And this time the darkness really consumed him and he wasn't aware of himself at all.

The next time he woke up was different. He could feel everything all at once. He could smell the sharp yet stale smell of antiseptic at the hospital. He could feel the scratchy sheets under his hands and there was a strange bitterness in his mouth.

His eyelids were heavy, but Ichirou forced them open and found that he was staring at a white ceiling. And beside him he saw pink hair and everything came back to him.

"Sakura?"

"Ichirou-nii!" Tears were streaming down her face, and Ichirou almost thought of her as a crybaby. He stopped himself just in time. It all came flooding back to him. The invasion in Suna, the psychotic bomber, his sister. Ichirou quickly surveyed his sister and saw that she wasn't hurt.

"I'm so glad you're okay! I'm going to become a medic ninja you know!" Tears were spilling down her face but she was still smiling. "That way-"

"Sakura." The two turned to the door where a blond woman stood a clipboard in her hand and a serious expression on her face. "I need to talk to Ichirou alone."

"O-okay, Shishou." Sakura gave him one last glance before she left, and the blond let her clipboard fall to her side as she observed him.

"You won't be able to be a ninja anymore."

Well, that was blunt. Not expecting quite that, he responded with the first thing that went through his head.

"Annoying."

Laughter bubbled from the blonde's mouth, "What? No why? No proclaiming that you'll be a ninja anyway?"

"You're the medic here. I just wasted a couple of years of my life for nothing."

The smile left her face and she muttered as she lifted her chart again, "No nothing. You saved your little sister, right?"

She must not have expected him to respond because she looked surprised when he did.

"She wouldn't have even been there in the first place if it wasn't for me."

Tsunade looked at him long and hard for a full five minutes before she spoke again. "You have a cyst at the back of your brain, it's a miracle you survived this long with no one noticing it, never mind the bump you recently got on your head. Until someone with enough skill is able to remove it, you will have to retire from the shinobi forces."

Ichirou frowned, but didn't have enough time dwelling on it when his sister barged in again, horror on her face, shaking her head repeatedly in denial.

"No. No, I'll learn. He'll be a great ninja. He'll become a jounin!"

"That would mean I'd have to take the chuunin exams again, first."

"No, he's already a chuunin, you were promoted nii-san; he'll be fine. I'll fix him. Shishou, tell him, I'll fix him!"

The little girl in front of Tsunade was hysterical. She looked about ready to burst if she wasn't told that she could fix it. So, Tsunade nodded.

"It'll take a few years, but I'll get you on it," and she turned back to the patient on the bed, "You should listen to your little sister more. She obviously has more sense than you. Come on, Sakura, you have some studies and exercises to work on.

She only heard one word as they left the hospital room.

"Annoying."

ooOoo

Kankuro and his sister were nearing normal genin age. They were eight and nine respectively, but that didn't mean they were as eager about becoming ninjas as one might believe. The fact of the matter was that they both knew what any team they were on would have. It would have some high class shinobi of the village and Gaara.

Now, they didn't necessarily hate their brother. It was just that sometimes he terrified them. They knew what Shukaku was. He was the sand spirit, the monk of the desert, the Ichibi. And it terrified them to think that the only one keeping it back was their mentally unstable brother.

"Kankuro, focus dammit!" he turned to face Temari, a grin on his face.

"You'll never catch me. You're just jealous," and he stuck out his tongue to emphasize the fact.

"Why would I be jealous? I'm not playing with dolls."

Kankuro scowled at this and reattached his chakra threads to his one puppet - Karasu.

"Temari, Kankuro, the Kazekage wants you both in his office. Now."

They froze as they turned to the jounin that had spoken. Had they done something wrong? Or had Gaara done it and blamed them. That seemed like the sort of thing he'd do nowadays.

They nodded to the jounin and walked toward the Kazekage's mansion in silence until Kankurou finally got the nerve to break it at the door of their home.

"What do you think he wants?"

"I don't know. Shut up."

And he did - for five seconds.

"Do you think Gaara paint bombed the ANBU headquarters again?"

"It could be-"

"Or maybe it's about the war . . ."

"Mayb-"

"Or maybe we have to babysit Gaara!"

And now he looked horrified and Temari had to suppress a giggle.

"Yeah, if we're lucky he'll paint your puppets." She stuck out her tongue as his face wrinkled up and he looked as if he'd smelled something particularly disgusting.

"Don't joke about things like that."

"Why not?" Kankuro and Temari froze. That voice . . . "It sounds like a great idea!"

"Hello, Gaara, how are you?" Temari asked, a wide grin spreading across her face. Gaara had heard about the idea, and so odds were that he'd do it. Revenge was sweet, especially when you didn't have to do anything for it.

"Hey, Temari-nee-chan! Thanks for the idea!" Gaara smiled. He _smiled._ That wasn't how Gaara used to be, but strangely it didn't look as forced as it had before he'd met his blond friend.

"Yeah, well be careful, there's usually poison everywhere," she cautioned with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah," interrupted Kankuro as he scowled, "what are you doing here anyway?"

"I have to see the Kazekage," and then he leaned forward as if about to tell a secret, even cupping his hands toward his face, "you know, otou-san," he leaned back, "He needs to tell me something about my new genin team!"

The little red head stopped and turned to face his siblings. For some reason that Gaara couldn't understand, they'd stopped in their tracks.

"What? Is there something on my face? Besides the 'love' kanji of course."

"No."

They both replied simultaneously and with much to much tension in their voices. They obviously needed to calm down. They proceeded to the Kage's office in silence.

It was pretty awkward, Gaara finally decided as they stopped at the double doors and he reached his fist out to knock.

"Ah, there you three are," the Kazekage said with a satisfied smirk on his face as he looked up from the paperwork and folded his hands under his chin. "I called all three of you here to tell you that you are now Team Baki. It won't be fun and games for that much longer -" he threw an accusing glare at Gaara.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do to stop me from paint bombing the ANBU headquarters? There's still a pretty new group waiting to meet my wrath."

Gaara's father sighed, rubbing his temples. "Gaara, this is not about your pranking abilities, this is about the security of the village. This is about seeing if you can handle the life of a shinobi."

Gaara rolled his eyes. "And what is a shinobi?"

"Well, the Konoha-nin that you like so much say that a Shinobi is one who endures -"

"Well, there you have it! The ANBU can _endure_ my pranks!"

The room was quiet for a full ten seconds after this proclamation. Temari was the one that broke the silence, "Okay, so when's our first assignment?"

Their father organized a few papers on his desk and looked back up at them; a shadow appeared to cloud his vision.

"You will be training at an outpost near the the southeast border for field experience. And you will stay there for three years before you come back to the village to take routine missions."

Gaara frowned.

"You're trying to get rid of me and Naruto's itching powder!" he accused.

A smile twitched at the Kazekage's mouth, "That's a bonus, yes."

Gaara scowled for a few seconds before he stopped and smiled widely. "Well, you'll have to deal with Matsuri-chan." And then the six year old was jumping out of the window leaving his family in the office staring back at him horror-struck.

"We're going to be stuck with him for three years?"

Their father sighed, "Would you two find him and tell him that you leave tomorrow at eight."

ooOoo

Iwa was a great place, Deidara decided as he perused the documents he had stolen from the restricted section of the shinobi library as he sat on his bed. This jutsu in his hands . . . it was the ultimate tool for art. He was fascinated and couldn't wait to try it out and - he was interrupted from his plan making by a knock forcing him to scurry to hide the scrolls under his pillow. It seemed as good a place as any to hide important things that he didn't want anyone to find - like the pajamas he was going to wear tonight.

"Yeah?"

Akatsuchi's voice answered.

"Deidara, the Tsuchikage wants to see you in his office in five minutes," and then footsteps walked away.

Did the old man know already? How could he? Deidara had been very cautious. He had used gloves so that there were no fingerprints.

He was a quivering mass of nerves as he hurried across rooftops and into the open window of the Tsuchikage's office. It seemed like the safest place - it offered an easy escape route.

"What do you want, old man?"

The 'old man' didn't even bother looking up from all the stacks of paperwork as he mumbled his way along.

"You're being recruited into the Explosion Corps. Report for duty at seven o'clock tomorrow for team training."

"What?" This had not been what he was expecting at all.

"You're being recruited into the Explosion Corps. Report for duty at-"

"Are you serious, old man?" the excitement in his voice must have been evident because Onoki chuckled.

"Yes."

"Oh yeah! Who's the artist?" and he was out the window, as ecstatic as ever - his nervousness from before completely forgotten.

"Hey, get back here, I haven't even told you where and when to report!"

That night before he went to sleep, he pulled the scrolls out and began to learn the jutsu and incorporate the kinjutsu into his body. It would make exploding things so much easier.

ooOoo

In Konohagakure, the most _youthful_ team they had was at odds. The leaves were peacefully hanging from the tree branches; the wind was lightly breezing through the boughs; the sun was shining, not hot enough to be uncomfortable, but not lightly shining either. It was a beautiful day.

But Maito Gai's team was half excited, half annoyed.

They were at the gates of Konoha about to embark on a C-rank mission with B-rank importance the day after they'd completed their D-rank mission to fix the village walls.

"So before we leave for the borders, are you all sure you have everything for our youthful mission?"

Tenten looked like she was fighting back a laugh and Neji rolled his eyes, a vein obviously agitated beside his eye, though Tenten would have teased him and told him to turn off his byakugan - they weren't even outside of the village yet.

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

"Water?"

"Check!"

"Ration bars?"

"Check!

"Bedrolls?"

"Check, check, check, and check!"

"Good! Let's go, team!"

Neji was really wishing he'd never met Lee and Gai-sensei. Tenten was really wishing she'd met them all sooner.

Gai-sensei pushed them as fast as they could go to the border of fire country without getting exhausted. And when they made it and settled down for the night, Gai-sensei's exuberance had died down and became more sober.

"Alright, remember, this is just a recon mission. This is behind the front lines and is an intel mission. We're only here to observe the movings in this area of fire and lightning. If any shinobi from Kumo seem to be approaching - and I'm counting on you Neji to see them, then we are under orders not to engage.

We're setting up a watch. Every three hours, Lee, Neji, and I taking a new one. Tomorrow it'll be Neji, Tenten and I, and the day after, Tenten, Lee, and I. We're only going to be gathering information for three days."

They all nodded and dropped into their bedrolls.

Neji's watch was first.

With his byakugan active, he had some time to think. He was glad that he had the team he had. He'd never admit it openly or even to himself all that much, but for him, his team was perfect.

ooOoo

The Kiri hunter-nin didn't know what to think. They only knew that they'd been recalled from the tail they'd been following in River Country back to Kirigakure. The group of five hunter-nin weren't so much annoyed as they were confused.

It wasn't until they were reaching the border of Hi no Kuni - they'd been able to remain mostly undetected, sticking to the south - and the ocean that separated them from Mizu no Kuni that they found out why.

The happened upon a genin team from Konoha.

ooOoo

Neji was on watch with his byakugan on and he saw the kiri-nin from a kilometer away. His eyes had widened quickly and he woke up Gai-sensei and his teammates.

"There's a group of Kiri-nin not too far away."

"Huh? Wake up the others and get into the trees."

That was the most serious Neji had ever seen Gai-sensei act. So, he did as he was ordered and by the time they were all in the trees, the kiri-nin were in the clearing.

"We know you're there," they called out.

Gai-sensei stepped forward, his face still uncharacteristically grim. "What are kiri hunter-nin doing this far in Hi no Kuni?"

"We're heading back to Mizu no Kuni. Is there something wrong? We were under the impression that this was peacetime."

Gai's expression remained stoic.

"Have you been living under a rock? War broke out with Iwa and Kumo during the Suna chuunin exams."

"What?" one of the Hunter-nin exclaimed.

"That must be why Yagura-sama decided to call us back . . ." the leader said.

"Well, thank you. We'll keep that in mind. We're sorry we disturbed you."

Gai still eyed them warily and only when Neji stepped out of the tree did he relax.

"They're running across the ocean now, sensei."

"Thanks Neji. I'll take the next watch."

ooOoo

Yagura looked down at the scroll before resolutely tying it to the leg of the messenger hawk. It was a missive saying that Konoha and Suna could count on Kiri help as well as an apology for the behavior of Kiri in the past couple of months.

Yagura was honestly horrified that so many clans had been destroyed because he - their Kage - was under a genjutsu. Damnit, they were his responsibility. He'd tried so hard to become Mizukage to show them that Jinchuuriki were not monsters and then he was manipulated!

He shook his head to clear away the thoughts as the hawk flew off.

It was time to meet with the jounin, chuunin, and hunter-nin of the village. Perhaps he could make up for his shortcomings with the rest of his actions.

They arrived quickly - the latest hunter-nin team had just gotten back that morning - and he looked out at his ninja. They had done his bidding without question. They had ruined the lives of their peers. It was time to fix that.

"The Fourth Great Ninja War was declared not too long ago. There are Kumo and Iwa against Konoha and Suna, though we must not forget that at any moment they can turn on us or against one another.

We're not going to actively be a part of the war, but we will begin to militarize. We do not want to be caught unawares. Spread the word."

There was so much paperwork to be done to make this a reality and Yagura almost groaned at that. But then, that's what being a Kage was all about.

ooOoo

Yuuhi Kurenai was a proud, independent, chuunin kunoichi of Konohagakure that didn't need any man in her life. She'd gotten to where she was because she shed sweat, blood, and tears to get as good as she was. That was why when Sarutobi Asuma came up to her asking her to watch his genin team, she said no straight away.

Who did he think she was, his slave?

"What? Why not?"

"I have better things to be doing."

"What," he looked at her skeptically, "file paperwork?"

She frowned. "No. I need to pack. I'm being sent with a back up team, thank you very much."

He rolled his eyes before he sighed and eyed her as if she was a new specimen. This was in fact the first time any girl had ever refused him. It was refreshing. But it was oh so annoying.

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Then can you just watch them this afternoon? Please? I have to go and help a friend of mine move out."

"Move out of where?"

"ANBU Headquarters."

There! He'd gotten her to shut up and not talk back.

"Fine."

"Yes!"

"But, you owe me the pay from your next B-rank."

"What?"

But, she was walking away and he was left behind gaping at the Kunoichi that made it to chuunin on the merit of her genjutsu.

ooOoo

Gaara decided that yes - his father had decided to get rid of him. And the only way he had succeeded in doing that was sending him to the most boring place ever.

Seriously, this place was going to kill him slowly. He would slowly go insane from this monotony.

The only bright side was seeing his siblings - Kankuro in particular was so fun to annoy. But in the dark hours of the night - when he couldn't sleep for fear that he'd unleash the monster within or suffer through the destruction of his mind, he stole away to watch the moon at the roof of the outpost. They were far away from the rest of the war, and there were no other distractions.

It was on their third month in solitude that Kankuro, who had been wandering in the night for once came upon Gaara.

He didn't want to go talk to Gaara, his little brother could be intimidating at the best of times. But something was pushing him forward.

"Why do you want to be Kazekage?"

His little brother looked up and frowned.

"I want the village to be precious to me. I want to share my love with the village - it's what Uzumaki Naruto taught me. I'm not a monster. I am who I chose to be. And that's why I will be Kazekage. I want to be needed by someone, but not as a frightening weapon, a jinchuuriki to be set loose on the enemy. I want to be needed as the Kazekage."

The two brothers didn't say anything for a while, but Kankuro understood at least in part his brother's new reasoning.

"You'll have my support when the time comes for it. Good night." Kankuro turned and took a few steps to walk away before he paused, "Why don't you meditate a bit, I think it'll help you."

And then he was gone and Gaara was left alone with his thoughts.

ooOoo

It was midday when the messenger hawk came and Gai-sensei looked at it on his own. It was odd when he thought about how often his own jounin-sensei had gotten messenger hawks when he was a genin and war was going on, and here he was in the same position. It was nostalgic . . . and depressing.

Still, looking at his students, so young and filled with the power of youth, he felt privileged to be able to guide these young shinobi in their path to adulthood and responsibility. Gai wished they could have been born in a better time - in a time without war, in a time without so much pain.

Still, if it had to happen this way, he was glad that he got to be their jounin-sensei. He was glad that Kakashi had taken that kid as his apprentice, spurring Gai to take his own. He was glad that Neji had found Lee and Gai training. And he was glad that Neji had invited Tenten to their training sessions.

ooOoo

Tenten giggled as she watched Neji glare at Lee. They were just so amusing. She was glad she had met the others. She was glad that she was on this team. She was on a team with legends. And one day, she'd like to be a part of that history.

She could see it now.

"Gai-sensei, are we just going to be on watch all day?"

"No. We were supposed to take care of any bandits and keep the road clear. But, we have orders to go back home -"

"Gai-sensei, some Kiri-nin are on their way here."

The words were so sudden that Tenten jumped and looked at her white-eyed teammate. He had his byakugan on again. Tch. What a showoff. He really liked that three hundred degree vision of his, didn't he? She didn't understand him, he was so stand offish, and he took things too seriously. But, she was glad he was her friend, because right at that moment, he looked fierce.

And she guessed that it was good that Gai-sensei listened.

"Ah, your team is still here? We have a mission to patrol this part of the border."

"Yes. I was just explaining that to them." Gai seemed really stoic and not at all trusting.

Did he have a grudge against Kiri? Tenten didn't know, and she was certain her teammates didn't know either, but she did know that she was glad when they set off and set up camp a good few miles away.

ooOoo

Naruto was frowning in annoyance. This usually wasn't such a big deal, but this time it wasn't because he was having trouble trying to figure out a jutsu. It was because Hinata - Naruto's best friend - was acting strange. She hadn't spoken to him at all and was spending much too much time - in Naruto's opinion - with two boys from her class. He'd been back for three months and he hadn't been able to talk to her because she was always surrounded by those boys.

He was seriously concerned. Was he not her best friend anymore? Was he not enough?

She was important! She was his first friend. She was the first to believe in him.

She couldn't leave him now.

And this rasengan, which he had completed felt lacking. It felt like there was so much more he could do. He couldn't get it to one hand. And that wasn't all, it felt like there was something to be added.

And he couldn't figure it out.

Naruto collapsed onto the grass in frustration.

He wished his family was here. He wished he knew more. He wished his mom and dad were around so that he could ask them why Hinata wasn't spending as much time with him as she used to.

Naruto rubbed his forehead.

"Life's not fair -ttebayo."

The little blonde's shoulders sagged and he rubbed the back of his head before he sat up straight.

Maybe he could ask Kurama - he had known Naruto's mother before, hadn't he? He could answer all the questions that Naruto had. And, Naruto knew that the company would help the fox. It was a perfect idea. Nothing could go wrong.

ooOoo

Hinata smiled at Kiba and Shino as they continued to quarrel. They hadn't really stopped since she met them and it was so amusing. She briefly wondered when Naruto was coming home before Kiba turned to her.

"You want to spar the winner? It'll be great for practice for graduation, and we can show Shino how bad he is!"

Hinata giggled before smiling softly. "No thank you, I think I'll just watch. I have to see my otou-san soon for practice."

"Hmph." Kiba grunted, and oddly Hinata was reminded of Sasuke. She smiled more widely. "Fine."

ooOoo

As soon as Naruto entered his mindscape, he frowned. The cage looked smaller than he remembered it being.

"Hey, Kurama?"

A growl.

Well, that was a good. It meant that Kurama was there . . . and alive.

"So, I have nothing to do, and I was thinking about talking to you."

" **Liar."**

Naruto slumped, "Man, can't you just accept the company?"

Kurama snuffed out some hot air straight through the bars and into Naruto's face.

" **Well, what do you want, little rodent?"**

Naruto sighed, "I really did just want to talk. I want to talk about my mom and my dad, and my family and just . . ." he hesitated, "Do you know why Hinata-chan is ignoring me? Did I do something wrong? She hasn't talked to me since before we left to go get Ichirou and . . ."

The great fox snorted.

" **Well, let's see, your mother was just like everyone else wanting to tell me how to use my power. Your father was like a lost puppy following her wherever and they were orphans."**

"Wait, what do you mean that everyone wants to tell you how to use your power?"

The fox mumbled something and Naruto's face expressed his confusion enough.

" **Never mind. As for that girl of yours, have you even looked for her since you got back?"**

"Yeah, and she's always with these two boys from the academy!"

. . .

" **Tch. I was sealed into an idiot."**

"What? What are talking about? I'm a prodigy!"

Naruto struck a pose and Kurama gave a dark chuckle.

" **Whatever, brat. Your mother was from Uzushiogakure like all the Uzumaki and your father was an orphan. You can look them up in the top secret archives. Now leave me alone, brat."**

"What? But, I just got here dattebayo!"

" **I don't care, you're annoying me."**

"Well, then I'll be quiet!"

Kurama snorted and rested his head on his paws eyes closing on the blonde's eager face. And there was wonderful silence for a full minute.

"What's your favorite color -ttebayo?"

And there went his nap.

" **I don't have one."**

"What do you mean, 'I don't have a favorite color'? Everyone has a favorite color! Just pick one! Come on! Mine is orange, because it's my mom and my dad put together, -ttebayo!"

" **I don't have a favorite color."** Kurama looked annoyed.

"Just pick one."

Kurama growled, **"Redish orange."** There. That shut the brat up.

"You like the same color as I do . . ." Naruto's voice filled with awe. "So . . . cool . . . Kurama, you and I are going to be great friends! I'm going to go look that stuff up, and when I find something I'll come back and talk to you! See you in a few!"

When the kid faded before the Kyuubi's eyes, the fox felt a part of him deflate. It had been nice, in a way. He could hear his brothers and sisters in the periphery, but they were far away, and they weren't actively seeking to contact him either.

So, it was nice having the brat's undivided attention. Though, in all honesty, Kurama had only said that color because it was the first thing he saw - his fur.

What an excitable little kid. He'd have to make him regret it later, but at the moment, Kurama was only going to sleep.

ooOoo

Naruto quickly left the training ground with a couple clones to train while he went off to infiltrate the ANBU section of the library. He figured it couldn't be that hard. He'd done it before, though they hadn't been at war at the time.

Still, Naruto was relatively certain that he'd be able to do it.

He figured he had to plan out his expedition carefully and so he henged into Kakashi-nii, nicked Kakashi-nii's favorite orange book from the bookshelf and strolled straight through to the ANBU section of the shinobi library. The scrolls here were largely restricted clan information - and you needed blood of the clan to release the scrolls, as well as advanced jutsu.

So, he dug deep and finally found a swirl - the sign of the Uzumaki and another symbol just next to it.

He bit his thumb and smeared it across the Uzumaki spiral haphazardly smearing the seal beside it.

Naruto winced, he shouldn't have done it so quickly, but then he brightened, the scrolls had popped out of both scrolls, so he figured that this more more family - probably his father's side.

And he took a seat not too far away in a hidden corner of the library - still henged as his nii-san.

"So the Shodai and Yondaime married Uzumakis," he muttered to himself as he read. It was the first thing to catch his attention. The second thing to catch his attention was that his father was not the creator of his signature jutsu - the jutsu that gave him his moniker of Kiiroi Senkou.

Senju Tobirama also used it - and with his skill in kenjutsu had landed a fatal blow on Uchiha Izuna - one of Sasuke-teme's ancestors.

What Naruto wanted to know was how his father had gotten that jutsu. Was it through Naruto's kaa-chan? Or had he sneaked into the ANBU library like Naruto had?

And why hadn't anyone ever mentioned that the Niidaime Hokage could Hiraishin? That seemed like something essential in the Academy history lessons!

Maybe Naruto's father had just been better than the Niidaime, but it should have been said at least _once._ Still, Niidaime _had_ to do it better than Genma-sensei if he could surprise an Uchiha like that.

Still, Naruto continued his search. There had to be more.

It said in the next few sections that the Uzumaki clan were from Uzushiogakure in Uzu no Kuni - and had a map detailing the village's location to fire country. Naruto frowned.

"I don't remember this country when I studied them with Kakashi-nii," he muttered as he stood up and went to go get a more current map of the elemental nations.

"Yep, this is where it's _supposed_ to be, but there's nothing there but Nami no Kuni . . . crap."

Nami no Kuni was a small country with no ninja village. So, what had happened to the Uzumaki clan?

"Well, they have really red hair like kaa-san."

But, still. The only mention of the Uzumaki in Konoha had been Uzumaki Mito, wife of the Shodai Hokage and a woman known for her seals, and Uzumaki Kushina, Naruto's mother and the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. And then Uzushiogakure had been destroyed sometime in the Second Ninja World War because of the threat of their fuuinjutsu. But the country still kept trade routes with Konoha.

Naruto's father was an even bigger mystery than the annihilated Uzumaki clan, though. Namikaze Minato's parents had died when he'd been young and had been Namikaze Minoro and his wife Natsumi who had been born to a single woman by the name of Haruka - a no-name orphan of the Warring States Era.

There was no other information on the scrolls, so Naruto sighed and put them back. He'd found some things out but he wished there had been more.

He'd have to look somewhere else.

"But where am I going to look," he muttered as he left the library, orange book in hand.

"I don't know, depends on what you're looking for," a cold voice said and Naruto froze turning around slowly.

"K-Kakashi-nii-san," Naruto rubbed the back of his head with his free hand and released the henge cringing at the killing intent that subsided upon Naruto's appearance.

"Come on. Let's go get some ramen, you can tell me all about it then." Kakashi said after a moment with a sigh.

"Alright!" Naruto nodded quickly.

"And give me back my book; you're too young for it still."

ooOoo

"And Kurama's all like, 'my favorite color is reddish orange' and -"

"Reddish orange?"

"Yeah! I just said that -ttebayo! And then he told me to look in the library."

"So, you went to the ANBU archives."

"Yeah, did you know that there's very little information on my dad's family?"

"Yes, Minato-sensei always wished that he knew more about his mother's family, and I think he found something out, but he didn't talk about it all that much."

Naruto visually slumped in front of his bowl of ramen.

"I think he had some pictures of his parents somewhere, though."

"Really? Where? Where do we look?"

"In his house is as good a place as any."

"He still has a house?"

"Well, it's yours now, technically."

"Technically?"

"It means basically, in other words, not directly, but more or less."

"Oh," Naruto still didn't really understand.

"Come on, I'll take you there."

"Okay!"

ooOoo

The house wasn't quite what he'd expected of the Yondaime's House home. It was one of the few sections of Konoha that had remained untouched by Kurama's attack a little under seven years before. It was small with three rooms, a kitchen just off the dining table in the front entrance, and one bathroom.

The furniture looked untouched, though. If Naruto ignored the dust, he could just imagine his red haired mother exiting the kitchen with a rag and plate in hand and his father pouring over the open scrolls in the office on the right.

"Naruto," Kakashi-nii was picking up a photo album from a shelf near a room that upon looking inside, Naruto saw was a nursery - _his_ nursery, "Here are your father's pictures. And your mother's are in this one. And here are their pictures from the Academy days and -"

"Thank you, Kakashi-nii. This," Naruto could feel the tears fall from his eyes, "This was a great gift. I . . . when I move out of ANBU headquarters, can I move here?"

Kakashi-nii remained silent for a moment. "Yeah. You can do that. I'm sure Minato-sensei would be happy that you'll live in their old home."

"Thanks, Kakashi-nii. Can I . . . can I look at those pictures," Naruto asked wiping his eyes, and tentatively reaching for the albums.

"Sure. I'll look with you, if you want."

"Yeah. I'd like that.

ooOoo

"Look! Tou-san looked like _his_ tou-san! Like me!" and it was true. Minato looked like Minoro. They both had blood hair. But, Minato's hair was spikier like his mother - Natsumi.

"Yeah." Kakashi said softly, staring at Natsumi. She had silver hair, like Kakashi's own, but it had a different quality. One with which Kakashi was familiar.

Kakashi stood up and moved to the office, a curious Naruto staring at his back.

"Hey, what happened? What is it?"

"I just want to look at something."

Kakashi looked at all the shelves looking for what he knew to be his sensei's journal from when he - Kakashi that is - was a chuunin.

And there it was, and Kakashi quickly scanned the entries until - there!

_I finally found out who it was that left Haruka-obaa-san. Except that I don't think he knew that he was leaving her and his daughter. I have my suspicions that kaa-san knew who her tou-san was, but didn't see any reason to tell anyone._

_Knowing who he was only makes me want to become Hokage even more._

_I won't tell anyone. But should something happen to me, there should be a record. My descendants should know their lineage is that of the Niidaime Hokage, and hopefully, if I reach my dream, the Yondaime as well._

ooOoo

Naruto smiled as he waited at the Academy for Hinata-chan to leave. He wanted to tell her all that he'd found out about his family.

As soon as Kakashi had shown him the journal entry, he'd lost words. It was amazing. It was so over his head. He'd had no idea that his great grandfather could be so . . . awesome. He thought his father had been awesome . . .

So, he waited and just as kids began streaming out of the Academy, he'd straightened up, trying to see Hinata-chan.

Only she wasn't looking for him. She was smiling next to two boys. Not even worried that he might be waiting for him.

And he came to the heart shattering realization that she didn't need him. She was fine without him. She could forget about him so easily.

He gripped the necklace from the Hyuuga clan tightly in his fist and found it hard to breathe. He had to get away. That smile . . . it was _his_ smile. And someone else was getting it.

He hiraishinned away.

ooOoo

When the Academy was over for the day, Hinata didn't want to go home, she had two more hours of training with her tou-san before she could call it a day, and so she lingered a bit before Ko-san could drag her away.

She wished Naruto-kun would come back from that mission. He'd whisk her away from her training -

Whose blond hair was that? she could have sworn, but no. There was no one on the swing. She must have been imagining things.

She turned back to Kiba and Shino to say her goodbyes.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Naruto didn't talk to anyone for the rest of the day. He found a quiet corner on top of his great grandfather's Hokage head because he didn't want anyone to find him, and everyone already knew about his spot on his father's head.

The only person likely to find him was Kakashi-nii. And Kakashi-nii had been called to some stupid meeting. Naruto couldn't stand this.

Was Hinata just-

"Naruto-gaki, what are you doing here. You're on the wrong head."

What he didn't count on was other people coming to this head.

"Go away, Tsunade-baa-chan," he mumbled as he glared out at the village, refusing to meet her gaze.

"Excuse me?" he could hear the irritation in her voice, but he didn't really care.

"I'm not in the mood," and he wasn't. He wanted to sit around and mope a bit. He wanted to mourn the fact that he was not needed by his best friend.

"Why are you on my great uncle's head anyway?"

Naruto didn't say anything for a moment, looking down with his shoulders slumped. But, he opened his mouth as if about to say something and closed it several times.

"Make up your mind, already."

Naruto glared. "The Nidaime is my great-grandfather - the grandfather of the Yondaime. And . . . I wanted to be alone for a while." He resumed his dejected expression towards the end of his explanation.

"You're . . . I . . .We're cousins thrice removed?"

Naruto grunted, taking his best friend's favorite expression.

"Well, what has you so down?" Tsunade asked as she sat down next to him.

"Hinata-chan doesn't care about me anymore. She has other friends."

"And you don't?"

"I do, but she'll always be special. And . . . I don't think I'm special to her anymore. Maybe I never was."

"You're overthinking it, kid."

"How would _you_ know? You didn't even know we were related until just now, -ttebayo."

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "You're going to regret over thinking it, brat. One day, you'll really regret not talking to her." And then she left and Naruto was left glaring at the sky.

ooOoo

Uchiha Mikoto started when she saw the messenger hawk circle above her house. Fugaku was at the police station, so she knew it was for her, but she hadn't expected it. She'd been retired for eleven years, after all. And she hadn't had a summoning from the Hokage in all that time.

Itachi was off on a mission - she really got worried every time he left, even if she knew he'd be fine - and Sasuke was taking his graduation test at the academy, so she left a note for Fugaku, so that he wouldn't get worried about her not being home.

Mikoto made her way through the Shinobi Garment District quickly but found herself stopped left and right in the Market Square just in front of the Academy.

By the time she made it back to the Hokage tower, half an hour had passed and she felt harried.

"Sorry, Hokage-sama! I got here as fast as I could," she said as she entered the office. It hadn't changed much in the years since she had retired except that there was a new picture on the wall - a picture of the Yondaime. And the paperwork looked a lot more manageable.

And there were three Sandaime's working on them.

"Ah, Uchiha-san! Your youngest son is set to graduate soon, is he not?" said the middle Hokage as he looked up.

"Yes. Sasuke-kun is very excited." She was still confused about why she was here.

She watched the Hokage as he shuffled papers around his desk and nodded mumbling, 'good, good,' under his breath. When he finally looked up, she tilted her head.

"Why exactly am I here, Hokage-sama?"

He sighed. "I'll be honest. I need more jounin-senseis for this year's graduating class. And you're the only candidate left that's available."

Mikoto frowned. "I can't teach Sasuke. He'll think I'm following him around."

"I was actually thinking about you teaching a group focused on tracking."

Mikoto tilted her head a little wondering if she'd heard wrong.

"What?"

ooOoo

Iruka stared at all the newly graduated genin. There was one group that had been adopted by their new jounin-sensei a few weeks early, but that still came to classes. And then there was the self-proclaimed tracking team made up of an Inuzuka, an Aburame, and the Hyuuga heiress. And then there were two other students that had graduated from his class - a little girl from a low-class shinobi family and the youngest son of the Uchiha Clan head.

The Ino-Shika-Cho team had been the best at the old D-rank missions turned E-rank and had caught the eye of a jounin - who constantly tried to pawn them off to others when he had something to do. And so he didn't see them around very often, but still, they were his students, and he felt a surge of pride for them all.

Here they were at the actual graduation. And none had failed. Iruka was almost sad that all of them had become genin. It meant they'd be in more danger. But it also meant that they were going to protect the village. He hoped they wouldn't get anything more than they could handle.

As he surveyed all the families around the graduated genin, the sight of the Hyuuga heiress gave him pause. He remembered the first time he met her in the shinobi shop and wondered why she looked so disappointed.

She should be proud - she had graduated earlier than many shinobi that he knew. She was younger than he'd been at any rate. And that was not something that should cause her grief.

It was a sad day for Iruka as he gazed at the little girl that had been so full of joy at the prospect of becoming a shinobi like her friend and yet looked like a lost puppy when she made it.

ooOoo

Hinata looked around the sea of six and seven year olds and frowned. It seemed that Naruto hadn't come back from that mission of his - which was odd. He'd been gone for six months after all. And he hadn't made it in time for her graduation. Wasn't he supposed to have gone to Suna to get his teammate? Was his teammate alright? Was he stable enough for transportation yet?

"Hey, Hinata-chan, we're going to go celebrate at this barbeque place!" Kiba shouted over the sea of graduating students - mostly clan shinobi, though there was one girl with pink hair whose parents were shinobi, but _she_ was apprenticed to the slug sannin, Tsunade-sama.

"Yes, I'll be there in a bit."

But, Hinata was worried. Had Naruto-kun gotten hurt on a mission? Was he safe? She wished he'd come to the graduation 'ceremony' to congratulate her. Her father had. Hanabi-imouto-chan, who was two years old, had. Hinata's mother had. And Neji-nii-san, who had just returned from his C-rank, had.

So, why was Naruto not here? As Hinata clutched her brand new hitai-ate to her chest, her shoulders slumped. How long would Naruto be away?

"Congratulations, Hinata-chan!" Hinata looked up to see Iruka-sensei.

"Thank you, sensei."

"I guess this makes you one step closer to that friend of yours, huh?"

"Yes, but . . ." Hinata looked back down, "he's not here."

She could feel Iruka-sensei's stare until his hand came to rest on her head, patting it, "Well, I'm sure he'll be proud of you!"

She lifted her head again and stared into her sensei's face trying to see if he was only telling her this to cheer her up.

Either way, it had worked. Hinata smiled and said, "Thank you!" before running off to find Shino and Kiba.

Even if Naruto-kun hadn't come, he was still her friend, and she could tell him all about it later.

ooOoo

Naruto stared down at the graduating genin from his pace on the Nidaime's head and smiled softly. He couldn't tell what the sensei was saying, but it made Hinata-chan happy. And a happy Hinata was all that Naruto wanted - even if she didn't want him around anymore.

He'd have to tell the guy 'thank you' later.

Naruto sighed and stood up - it was time for a prank. That would get his mind off of his problems - like how he had to go to the team placements. Kakashi-nii-sensei had told him that they were going to be joined by two green genin.

It kind of annoyed Naruto because Kakashi-nii knew exactly who was on the team, and Naruto didn't.

He hoped Sasuke was on his team, though. That would be great.

Nevertheless, Naruto strolled through the village, inconspicuously adding a Hiraishin seal on every corner. This prank was going to be epic.

It took him five hours to get all the seals set up - he was pretty certain he'd seen Hinata-chan laughing with her new friends and a few others at a restaurant and had hurried away - and he'd gone back to his room in ANBU headquarters to get all the seals that he'd prepared the day before together so he could attach them quickly and hiraishin away with as little delay as possible.

Yes, his prank was ready. And the village wouldn't know what hit it.

ooOoo

Sasuke was in the middle of the market district getting some tomatoes when the first exploding tag went off. He'd tensed at the sudden sound and then sprung into action, rushing to a rooftop and frowned. There was not the destruction he'd expected.

There wasn't fire and every second a new tag was going off . . . and was that . . . confetti? Naruto. That was the only explanation. This was another one of his pranks. He was sure of it.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and headed to the Yondaime Hokage's head. He'd wait for the explosions to end, but they were just propping up one right after the other - and Sasuke from his vantage point could see one propping up on every corner - not in a row, randomly. But there was one exploding on every corner and Sasuke had to smirk.

Hiraishin. That was how Naruto was doing it. Which meant that he'd need an escape. And there was a tag right behind him.

ooOoo

Pranks were good training - for the people being pranked and the person doing the pranking. It increased alertness and tested one's ability to run away and pursue the target. The only problem was that most targets couldn't move miles without breaking a sweat in an instant.

No.

The ANBU weren't happy. They knew who had done it, but that didn't mean that they knew how to capture the culprit.

Naruto had escaped to the Nidaime Hokage's head - which was not what anyone had been expecting. And as Naruto saw the last of the Exploding tags going off her smirked. The village looked like a giant two year old had come through and tried making a painting for its mom.

It was perfect, and yet Naruto couldn't stop thinking about his first friend and how she wasn't only _his_ now. She could make her own friends and didn't need him - she didn't care anymore.

He glanced at his father's head and saw Sasuke-teme sitting and smirking out at the village, and Naruto had to smirk back before he activated hiraishin and teleported to the head, grabbed Sasuke, and teleported back.

Sasuke didn't even have time to tense up.

"You didn't actually think I would retreat to my most popular hang-out spot did you?"

Sasuke glared but then smirked.

"Good plan."

Naruto smiled back, "Yeah, I've been working on it all morning and now, I can go anywhere in the village if I need to."

"So that's what you were doing during graduation."

"Nah, I saw you guys from a distance. I went to go do my prank after that."

Sasuke stopped smiling and frowned.

"Why didn't you say 'hi' to Hinata, then?"

"She was busy," Naruto didn't look into Sasuke's eyes and simply looked out at the village that was finally coming out of their shelters, mouths hanging open at the confetti.

"You're an idiot," Sasuke said shaking his head and turning out to the village, "So, why the Nidaime's head? Why not your mom's painted one?"

Naruto smiled at this, "He's my great-grandfather."

Sasuke stopped and turned to stare at Naruto.

"You're joking right?"

"Nope!" Naruto grinned even wider.

"B-but-"

"He created the Police Force and killed Uchiha Izuna during the warring states era?"

"Yeah. And-"

"He knew some lady named Haruka and their daughter was my dad's mom," Naruto explained a smug grin on his face.

"So what you're saying is that your ancestor killed my ancestor," Sasuke said with a scowl on his face.

And Naruto thought about that for a moment before smiling and nodding his head, "Yeah, wouldn't they be rolling in their graves if they could see us now? Best friends and two of the future rulers of Konoha?"

Sasuke snorted before joining Naruto who had promptly begun rolling on the ground laughing.

ooOoo

Hinata stared at the village in confusion. Did this mean that Naruto-kun was back? But that wasn't right, because then he would have been at graduation - he would have pushed his team to make it - wouldn't he? And he would have found her. There must be another prankster in Konoha . . .

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at that thought.

"Hinata-sama, come along, we need to go see Hiashi-sama for your training!" Ko didn't seem to find the prank funny. He'd stiffened up real bad when they started going off and then got this annoyed look on his face when he realized that it was only confetti.

And now he seemed to just want to go back home.

Ko was no fun.

Still, this prank had a very distinctive Naruto-esque flare. And if it was Naruto, then why would he be avoiding her? Someone must have found Naruto's prank book of ideas.

Except that didn't really explain it at all because Naruto had that sealed up tight with some Uzumaki seals . . .

Hinata didn't really want to think about it - the whole situation didn't make much sense. And she figured that she'd only worry incessantly if she thought about it too much.

She'd wait for Naruto to get home so she could tell him about the awesome prank that he missed and he could find out for himself who had done it.

Yeah, she'd do that.

ooOoo

Gaara frowned as he looked out at the landscape around him. It seemed like no time had passed at all since he'd left Matsuri-chan, and he'd had time to calm down.

Still, he found that spying on everyone in the base was good practice if he wanted to be Kazekage. If he could do this, then he could do it anywhere in the village. And he'd be able to know everything.

That was the only reason there was ever any peace in the base.

He still got complaints from shinobi that freaked out when they saw those disembodied eyes.

It was a satisfying sort of pride that he got whenever he was scolded for it.

Still, he'd been away from Matsuri-chan for a while now and he couldn't shake the nagging feeling of loneliness. His brother - Kankuro - had warmed up a bit and Temari-nee-chan was still teasing him - something she had never done before he'd met Naruto, but there was something missing - a creeping sense of loneliness deep inside him.

He needed to meditate. It would help - he was sure of it. Naruto liked to meditate a lot - and if he was going to cure Shukaku of his hatred - like Naruto was doing with Kurama, then he'd need to talk to the Tanuki.

He'd been able to ignore and block the Tanuki out for a while now, but Gaara decided it was time to put in some positive effort.

So he sat cross-legged over the roof of the base and breathed deeply in and out.

ooOoo

After Naruto had gotten ready for bed was when he remembered that he'd promised to keep Kurama posted on what he'd found out in the archives and so, grumbling, he sat down to meditate. He'd made a promise and he was going to keep it.

It was when he was back at the cage - and he swore, it was even smaller this time! - that he felt strange, as if there was someone else somewhere.

"Hey, Kurama," Naruto said yawning - goodness he was tired, "so I went to the archives. Did you know that the Nidaime Hokage Senju Tobirama is my great-grandpa?"

" **What are you doing here?"**

"Ooh . . . evil glare as usual . . . lighten up, Kurama! I have information here!" Naruto pouted as he only received another glare.

" **What do you want, brat?"**

"I come with tidings of great news!"

" **Shut up,"** the fox said as he covered his head with one of his tails.

"Come on, I'm here to keep you company -ttebayo!"

" **I don't need your company, I can always sense my brothers and sisters."**

"What? Cool, so you can sense Shukaku in Gaara? Can you talk to him? I wonder how Gaara's doing . . ."

" **You are such . . . a child."**

"Hey! I'm being serious here! Do you think I could meet your brothers and sisters?"

Another glare leveled itself at the boy.

" **How did the meeting with that girl of yours go."**

Naruto frowned, looking down, "It didn't."

Next thing Naruto knew, they were in another place, Kurama was still in a cage, but there was someone else. The entire place was white, but not an eye blinding white - more of an eye-pleasing off-white.

Naruto squinted to look at what was there and saw a large creature growling at something small and held back by only four very weak looking chains.

"Wha-what is that?"

" **That's my brother. Shukaku stop trying to eat the brat. It's not going to help you."**

The large hulking creature stopped and turned around.

" **Hmph, Kurama, nice cage.**

" **Yes, it's very comfortable."**

"Naruto? It _is_ you, Naruto." the little redhead in front of the Tanuki smiled waved energetically.

"Hey, Gaara! Did you know that we could talk like this? 'Cause I didn't! I just found out now when I was talking to Kurama. Hey, hey, hey, Gaara did you know that my great-grandfather was the Nidaime Hokage? He is! So, that makes me part Senju!"

Gaara blinked, "Yeah, well I've been on an extended mission at the border-"

" **But, not the borer he'd like you to believe,"** Shukaku interrupted, **"There's not enough fun here."**

" **What you would call fun, they'd call terrifying."**

" **Yeah, but -"**

"So, that's what it's like to have family," Naruto muttered as he stared at the fox and Tanuki bicker.

"Yeah, you should see Temari and Kankurou."

" **We are** _ **not**_ **like you insignificant humans."**

"Yeah, yeah. We know, you are the almighty biju and are on a whole other plane of existence and as such are superior in all ways, we know," Gaara supplied rolling his eyes.

"Do you have any idea how much fun we could have on our villages with this connection?" Naruto asked with a smirk on his face.

Gaara got a pensive expression following it before he smiled widely too.

"We could plan simultaneous pranks. And with the faster moving information, we can alert those that need to know sooner if something changes on a front," Gaara frowned, "I've been at too many tactical lessons."

"Maybe," Naruto smirked," but that also takes us another step closer to being kage."

And then they were smirking at one another and the biju in the background were eyeing their hosts with something akin to fascination.

ooOoo

Yagura was feeling guilty and ansty. Every week that orange haired guy from Amegakure would show up and make sure that he was not under another genjutsu. So far, he'd gotten a good report, but it was annoying relying on someone else. He'd gotten used to being alone and now it seemed he couldn't be left alone otherwise he'd be controlled.

It was a strange feeling and left him feeling as if he was a failure to his people.

And the Sanbi was acting up - Yagura could feel it. Maybe it was nothing, but for some reason, Yagura felt . . . almost scared.

Something was behind him! Yagura tensed and . . . it was a fly.

He really needed to fix this problem with the Sanbi, because this was becoming ridiculous.

ooOoo

Naruto was listening to Gaara recount his latest prank at the base when both Kurama from behind his bars and Shukaku in his chains tensed and sat up - as much as they could.

" **Isobu?"**

" **Kurama! Shukaku! You two being together were the last ones I would have expected to be meeting!"**

"Sanbi, what is the meaning of this?"

" **He doesn't even know your name?"** the Tanuki cackled.

" **We don't really talk much. So, what's with the meeting?"**

" **My host wanted to meet with his friend, Shukaku's host."**

"Hey, Kurama, who's this?" Naruto asked and Kurama looked down at the blond, rolling his eyes just as Gaara elbowed his stomach.

"Didn't you listen? That's sanbi - Isobu. At this rate, how do you expect to become Hokage?"

"Hey!"

"Who are you?" the guy next to Isobu asked and Naruto and Gaara both looked out at him with curious expressions on their faces.

"I'm Gaara, son of the Yondaime Kazekage, and future Kazekage of Sunagakure!"

"And I'm Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, son of the Yondaime Hokage and future Hokage of Konhagakure. My mother was the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero of Konoha and my gre-"

"I think you got the point across, Naruto," Gaara frowned, "anyway, who are you?"

The guy just stared at them for moment before opening his mouth, shutting it and then opening it again to answer, "I am Yagura, Yondaime Mizukage."

The two near seven-year olds stared at him, after a moment it began to be creepy and he began to slowly back away. For naught.

"You are my new hero!" shouted the blond, his hands coming around Yagura's waist as the redhead grabbed his knees.

"Yeah, I'm going to be just like you, Yagura-nii!"

And a confused Mizukage struggled to stay standing as they forced him to find his balance.

ooOoo

Deidara had thought that getting accepted into the explosion corps would be great. He was wrong. It was great for the more advanced members, but he was still just a newbie and they all treated him as such.

His mentor was his uncle twice removed - Gari. And Gari-oji was totally awesome! He was a legend in the corps and everyone kept saying that Deidara had so much to learn from Gari-sensei.

Deidara wouldn't have cared so much about what everyone was saying if he was actually getting somewhere with his art, but they seemed to be impeding it more than anything.

And now that they were being assigned to border patrol, he was going to have less training time, or as Deidara referred to it - Art Time.

As the rest of the team congregated, Deidara looked back up to his uncle and scowled. It was a good thing he'd taken that kenjutsu course - he was just about ready to incorporate that jutsu into his body. It would take a while, but Deidara was sure next time he was back in the village, he'd be able to do it. It was only a matter of time.

The team was assembled, and that's what alerted Deidara to the fact that things were not okay. They were not leaving.

"Hey, Gar-oji, are we going or what, un?"

No answer.

"Gari-oji?"

Nope.

"Gari-sensei?"

"Yes, Deidara?"

"Stupid Gari-oji," he mumbled before standing somewhat at attention, "What are we waiting for?"

"The rest of the away team."

"Away team?"

"The team for border patrol. We're just here to plant traps on the enemy side."

"And which country is that?"

"Kaze no Kuni," Gari-oji looked down at Deidara skeptically, "And they said that you were there when war broke out . . . could have fooled me."

"Hey!"

It turned out to be Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, and an older shinobi supervising them. Deidara could vaguely remember his name being Ittan.

"So can we go now Gari-oji?"

No answer.

"Gari-sensei?"

"Yes, did you say something, Deidara?"

He glared, but he didn't do anything more. It figured he'd get a sensei obsessed with the formalities.

ooOoo

It was the third day that Pakura had been on duty. And she was bored. Her team had been on the border, waiting for a confrontation. Iwa or Kumo ninja in their territory were to be captured if possible for interrogation, or dispatched as quickly as possible.

She didn't like Iwa shinobi.

They made her angry, annoyed, and basically just pissed her off. And here she was, on the border waiting for something - a battle - that could arrive at any minute.

She wanted to sleep, at least that way she'd be fresh for the fight, but if she slept, they might be attacked and she couldn't trust that either. Whatever she did could be seen as a failure.

So, she figured that at least if she went to sleep, she wouldn't see the death coming. She'd better get someone to replace her though.

"Niirou, it's your turn for duty."

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah."

ooOoo

When Inoichi, Shikaku, and Chouza got to the border of Suna, they found most of the group asleep.

"Suna- shinobi, could you wake up your comrades?" Shikaku called out.

The chuunin looked up from the scroll he'd been reading, shocked and annoyed before he rushed to who they presumed was his leader.

"Pakura-taicho, wake up."

"Grfnkl?" the woman's voice sounded muffled against her arm.

The Suna Kunoichi smacked him in the face and sat up.

"What do you think you are doing? - You . . . You are . . . Niirou! Why are you waking me up?" her infuriated screech vaguely reminded Shikaku of his wife.

ooOoo

Pakura was growling at everything in her way. She'd gotten two hours of sleep. Her anger was leaving her in a state that was familiar and alien at the same time. She felt like she could just jump out of her skin. And it was not a calming feeling. At all. Quite the opposite, really.

"Niirou," she growled as she grabbed a piece of his shirt, "you couldn't have let me sleep for another hour?"

"What?"

"Yes, I've been on watch for three days, or did you forget, you idiot. Three hours would have made me feel more rested, but no. Even thirty minutes would have. You -"

"Okay, I'm sorry, Pakura-taicho."

"Sorry isn't good enough!"

She didn't really know this kid all that well, just that he was a chuunin and had had a special grudge with Iwa and Kumo since the war broke out - something about one of his brothers dying.

But, at the moment, she didn't really care all that much BECAUSE THE TWIT INTERRUPTED HER SLEEP CYCLE!

He'd pay for this - he would if it was the last thing she did.

ooOoo

In every bar all across the elemental nations was a toad. It was a different toad each time, but they were all toads. They had shown up during the second shinobi war - though the civilians mostly didn't know that. They weren't trained to know that - and had been there ever since, silently keeping watch.

Innocently.

And in Tsuchi no Kuni, some chuunin were headed back to Iwagakure and had stopped at a bar for a drink . . . or two . . . or three . . .

The murmurs in the bar were just that. But as the rumors circulated, the civilians began to talk about it. They _tried_ to be discreet, but they were civilians. And the whispers of civilians were easily caught by the toad. In fact, he'd gotten it from the get-go. He'd been watching the Iwa ninja as they boasted about how they - simple chuunin had been selected to be part of the task force.

The toad, as unsuspecting as possible hid in the grass behind the bar, summoning a fellow toad and disappeared in a puff of smoke, off to give his report to the spymaster.

ooOoo

Danzo stared at the two boys as they trained. it was almost pitiful how the dark haired one was so attached to his 'brother.' They needed to be more controlled over their emotions.

It was almost time for their test.

Ignorant to the musings of their mentor, the little black-haired boy smiled at his 'big brother' and clutched his sketch book. His 'brother' was practicing his kunai throwing and though he would not allow his brother to look at his sketch book until his little 'project' was finished, he knew that his brother kept trying to catch him not looking so he could look.

It was good practice for them both. And the little boy really did want to be just like his 'big brother.'

ooOoo

"What do you mean I have to go to the genin orientation? I'm a chuunin! That means that I'm not going to be on any more genin teams, doesn't it?"

"Sorry, Naruto." the old man didn't _look_ sorry. In fact, he looked like he was thoroughly enjoying this."

"But . . ." Hinata was going to be there . . . but of course, he wouldn't say this out loud.

"Just be sure to be there at nine tomorrow morning, Naruto. I really don't want to have to send ANBU after you to get you to go."

As Naruto left the Hokage tower, he couldn't help but kick any and all rocks in his path as hard as he could with his open-toe sandals. Naruto was not in a good mood.

ooOoo

As Hinata hurried to the classroom in the Academy to get her team assignment,she couldn't help but worry even more. Would she be a good shinobi? Would she be able to be as good as Naruto-kun so that one day she could stand by him side by side?

But, the thought of Naruto-kun made her frown. He still hadn't seen her - so she had to assume that something had gone terribly wrong with his mission - but no one said anything about it which was strange.

She was a genin, now. She could handle any bad news.

She tried to enter the room quietly, she really had, but the moment she stepped in, she couldn't stop herself from taking a sharp breath of air. Because there he was, not looking at her. In fact, he was talking animatedly to Sasuke-kun, and completely ignoring the fact that there she was staring at him. Everyone else in the class had at least turned to see her, but Naruto-kun . . .

No, he continued talking to Sasuke as if nothing had happened. As if she wasn't even there. Wasn't he her friend?

"Hey, Hinata, come over here and sit with us," Kiba shouted from the back of the room, and if she hadn't turned from staring Naruto-kun down she might have seen him stop mid-sentence and tense up.

But, she didn't.

Because though Naruto-kun had thrown their friendship out the window, with Kiba's invitation, she was reminded that she had other friends. Naruto-kun didn't define who she was.

Though, that small consolation did nothing to soothe the hurt.

ooOoo

When Iruka walked into the classroom, he didn't register anything as overly out of place - except for the six year old chunin talking to the Uchiha in the front row . . . No. He just knew that he was hungry. He'd been at the academy all morning teaching the incoming class of five year olds katakana and hiragana and just when he thought it was time for lunch - the kids had just been picked up by their caretakers or parents - depending on who was available because of the war and all - when a clipboard was thrust into his hands and his old teammates yelled - as they ran off, he might add - that he had to go assign the graduating class to their jounin-sensei.

And he was really hungry . . .

So, when he began to read out the Teams, he didn't bother looking up to see the reactions.

"Team One will be . . ." the names just blended together, he hadn't spent very long with this class - he'd only been a teacher for a short while and was still trying to tie the names to the faces.

It was Team Seven that nearly made him stop.

"Team Seven will be Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura under Hatake Kakashi."

Mutterings were heard throughout the entire class, but he moved on, trying to get the teams done. A bowl of ramen at Ichiraku's down the street was just calling his name, he could hear it. Really.

"Team Eight will be Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata under Uchiha Mikoto." Now Iruka frowned. He thought the Uchiha Matriarch had retired . . .. nevertheless, he moved on to Team Ten -

"Why isn't there a team nine?" asked an eleven year old graduate that in Iruka's opinion was much too obnoxious.

"Because Team Nine is an ANBU division." Now who would answer something like that?

"What?"

"Naruto-dobe, don't answer stuff you don't know the answer to," Sasuke scowled.

Naruto, who had been doing a balancing act on the back two legs of his chair abruptly landed on all four and scowled, "It's not my fault they ask stupid questions." and then he turned to the twelve year old that had asked the question, "It's because Team Nine is technically still in effect."

"What?"

Iruka looked down at the roster.

"He's right . . ."

"How does _he_ know?"

Naruto scowled at the class again, "Because I was a part of team nine, and though we're all chunin now, the team might still do missions when Ichirou recovers."

If things went on this way, Iruka would never get to his lunch.

"And on that note, Team Ten is Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji to train under Sarutobi Asuma. Please go have lunch with your new teammates and then be back in an hour to meet your sensei."

There. His assignment was complete, he could go and get that lunch his stomach was demanding.

Ichiraku - have a bowl of pork ramen ready, please!

ooOoo

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura waited five hours after their lunch at a place of Sakura's choosing before Kakashi showed up.

"Hello, my cute little genin . . . and Naruto!"

"Hey!"

"Are you a genin, Naruto?"

"No . . ."

Naruto grumbled as Sakura attempted to keep her face from betraying how much she wanted to laugh and Sasuke's mouth twitched into a half-smile.

"Anyway, I am Hatake Kakashi, your jounin-sensei. Let's have introductions and then we can go on our way. Tomorrow we'll have a training session to see how well you guys work together and then we'll grab our first mission the day after. I'll go first. As I said, I am Hatake Kakashi. I have many likes, I'm not going to tell you my dislikes, and hobbies . . . do I have time for those? Ah, well, anyway, it's your turn pink hair."

Naruto snorted and under normal circumstances would have launched into a long spiel about everything he knew about Kakashi-nii-san, but he was still brooding about Hinata.

"Um, I'm Haruno Sakura, I like medical ninjutsu, I don't like Iwa or Kumo, and . . . my hobbies are studying medical ninjutsu?"

"Good! And the Uchiha?"

Naruto sighed. Sometimes, he wondered what would have happened if he had never been put under ANBU protection, if he had never killed that Kumo-nin. But, no. Though Hinata no longer seemed to be his friend, that didn't mean he had to ever stop caring about her.

ooOoo

Yamanaka Ino was proud when she received her hitai-ate. She and her team had been unofficial for a while, and it was so rewarding being able to hold that rite of passage - this hitai-ate that said she was an adult.

Such a strange concept, that this piece of cloth, and slab of metal with her village's symbol was her pass into training grounds, and her path toward living on her own.

And Asuma-sensei was great - kind of laid back, and always smelled of smoke, but great.

Ino's mother had served Ino and her teammates lunch before they met up with Asuma-sensei for their first task as genin. Supposedly, it had something to do with teamwork.

And yet, when he showed up he only said they were going to be guarding a farmer and his crops a couple of miles from the village.

Ino wished she could have something more ninja-like to do, but it was okay. She was looking forward to seeing Sakura-chan later anyway.

ooOoo

Neji frowned as he and his team entered the training ground and found Gai-sensei with a very serious expression on his face.

"Is something the matter Gai-sensei?"

Neji rolled his eyes at the question. Of course something was 'the matter.' A frowning Gai-sensei was unheard of. A frowning Gai-sensei calling a team meeting meant the apocalypse was near. Lee should know this.

Why ask a question with such an obvious answer?

"We're being sent on border patrol near Iwa in two weeks. Reconnaissance reports say that there is heavier enemy traffic near the northeast border with Iwa and Suna. And we're going largely undercover. Lee, we can't use the Spandex."

Neji's eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise. Well, that _was_ the apocalypse for Gai-sensei, was it not?

ooOoo

Lunch was spent by the Hyuuga heiress in a cloud of depression, despite her teammates attempts to cheer her up. They didn't know what was wrong or what they could do to help her. She just looked depressed.

It wasn't until the day was over that she finally had the courage to look up at her sensei - Mikoto-sensei - that the Uchiha smiled sadly at her.

"What's the matter, Hinata-chan?"

And finally, after a day of holding it in, Hinata began to cry - as only six year olds cry.

"Naruto-kun completely ignored me! I thought he was my friend, and that he'd always be my friend . . ." her voice kept cracking and hiccoughs disrupted her speech.

"Hinata-chan . . . it'll be alright. Your friends don't define who you are."

"But, he didn't even tell me that he'd come back! Does he not care? Was I just . . ."

"I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding." Mikoto-sensei looked to be frowning as she pat the Hyuuga heiress on the back. "I'll tell you what, let's go get some food and you and I can have some girl-talk, okay?"

"Okay, Mikoto-sensei. I think the problem is just that I have to accept the fact that Naruto doesn't care anymore."

Mikoto seriously doubted that was the case, but she nodded and prodded the girl towards the Market District in hopes of distracting the little girl.

ooOoo

The man in the mask stared at the grave of one Nohara Rin from a tree branch barely keeping his frustration from spilling out. Things seemed to be moving too quickly and it almost looked as if Nagato had betrayed him. Yagura was no longer under his control. And a fourth shinobi war was going on.

Unfortunate, really. But not world ending. Yet.

Before he left, though, he inclined his head to the grave and murmured a small promise.

"I will make a world where you exist."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

_**From the Desk of the Sandaime Hokage in the first year of the Fourth Shinobi War** _

**Sandaime Hokage's Personal Journal**

**These past few years have made me feel old, and I'm seriously considering retiring again - Tsunade is a prime candidate, if I can convince her that the paperwork is not too bad . . . Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto has caused many headaches with his saving of the Hyuuga heiress, however, I cannot fault him for any of it. His prowess as a shinobi has been growing by leaps and bounds, but I fear what this means for the future, now that the Fourth Shinobi War has broken out.**

**Since Naruto joined the ranks of Konoha's Shinobi, he's run into more trouble than I thought possible. First it was their C-Rank mission, where they were intercepted by an S-rank Missing-nin of Kiri and got out by the skin of their teeth, and then he entered the chunin exams - which were doomed from the moment I refused to give him up to Kumo after he interrupted their kidnapping of the Hyuga heiress.**

**And now, with this war, Naruto is going to have to go to the front lines eventually. I know that and Naruto's new sensei knows that . . . it's almost very good that he was put on a new team. It means I can keep him away from the battlefield as long as possible.**

**I have truly failed Minato . . . is there no way to have peace?**

**I should have stayed retired.**

**I sit here at my desk while my grandson is at home - he's growing up. Is it too much to ask for - to be allowed to watch your descendants grow up? All this time lost.**

**Yes. I feel old.**

**Team Ten Mission Report**

**Rank: D (wartime) Village-Border Patrol Relief for Team Seven under Hatake Kakashi**

**Duration of Mission: Two weeks**

**Team Leader: Sarutobi Asuma**

**Mission Summary: Team Ten has successfully completed the mission. No enemy-nin were engaged, and no attempts were made by the enemy to cross border. On Day Five of border patrol, genin Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji found an old Uchiha base sealed with Uchiha blood seals. A request to begin utilizing police force in conjunction with patrol to make use of resources is submitted by Nara Shikamaru. The Uchiha base is not far from Konoha's western wall. They still had to make routine runs around the village and keep a constant lookout for nin.**

**On Day Seven of border patrol, genin Yamanaka Ino found a poisonous plant among flowers that the academy uses in kunoichi 'training.' A sample was taken and the rest destroyed. On day twelve, we were relieved of duty by Genin Team Eight under Jounin Uchiha Mikoto. Uchiha-san was briefed of the old Uchiha outpost - she was aware of its existence and approved its usage for future border patrols - as a base of operations. Genin Akimichi Chouji donated the last of his soldier pills and field rations to Genin Team Eight at end of mission.**

**Chuunin Squad 15 Mission Report**

**Rank: C Rank (wartime) Daimyou escort to tele-conference with other Daimyou**

**Duration of Mission: One month - back and forth**

**Team Leader: Namiashi Raido**

**Mission Summary: We had no problems getting to the capital or returning to Konoha. A team of Kumo shinobi were engaged briefly on the way to the land of iron. Daimyou-sama has reached tentative trade agreements with Mizu no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni. However, Tsuchi no Kuni and Kaminari no Kuni refuse trade with the Daimyous in alliance with Hi no Kuni. As such, their supplies may be assumed to be plentiful, or they must have an alternative to remain stocked. Some countries may also be hiding their alliances.**

**It might be a good idea to keep a closer eye on the smaller countries.**

**The mission was successfully completed.**

**ANBU Squad 5 Misison Report**

**Rank: A (wartime) Infiltration Mission into Kaminari no Kuni**

**Duration of Mission: One week**

**Team Leader: Tenzou**

**Mission Summary:**

**Mission status: complete.**

**Mission casualties: second in command injured (Shisui), in hospital. Recovery estimated at one week. Crow(Itachi) was more severely injured, but should recover, due to confrontation with Iwa border patrol and because he took most of the tanto blow meant for Second in Command. Inuzuka-san's quick thinking saved his arm. Kumo forces - backup - on the move, heading toward the borders of Yu no Kuni and Shimo no Kuni**

**Evidence was also found concerning the assault on the border - mass movement of Jounin and chuunin teams evidenced by scent traces of thirty shinobi caught by Inuzuka-san. Further investigation and back up for the border patrol and front lines force recommended.**

**Team Seven Mission Report**

**Rank: D (wartime) Village Border Border Patrol Relief for Team Gai**

**Duration of Mission: Two Weeks**

**Team Leader: Hatake Kakashi**

**Mission Summary:**

**Mission Status: Complete, no injuries. After a year, Sasuke has shown promise in his new jutsu - he's trying to reverse engineer the Raikage's signature technique. The jutsu still needs work, but Naruto is helping him. Sasuke has also informed me that his elder brother is helping him develop it. They have not seen the Raikage do it, but from what they know, they're making progress.**

**Naruto insists that he'll have a way of getting Sasuke some first-hand experience, but has not revealed how, yet.**

**Our resident medic-in-training was able to patch up a few scratches on the Uchiha from his failed attempts and has made significant progress in her iryo-ninjutsu practices on fish. Uchiha Base was very helpful. Nara Shikamaru's request to begin utilizing police force in conjunction with patrol to make use of resources is highly recommended by Team Seven. And endorsed by the resident Uchiha.**

**Naruto has made progress on the ninjutsu front as well. He's trying to collaborate attacks with his toad summons on the suggestion of Jiraiya-sama. And Naruto has given up on shogi. He says it no longer is "necessary" for his "awesomeness." He seems to be more absent minded some days and depressed. Perhaps he should get a psych eval?**

**Naruto's kage bunshin also help greatly in the mission and he reported that every ten feet in a radius of twenty feet of the village walls has a Hiraishin kunai. His fuinjutsu is also coming along well. I can teach him no more. I suggest he take some time with Jiraiya-sama. Perhaps once the war is over.**

**Relieved of Duty by Team Ten. Again. Hokage-sama, is this going to be a pattern?**

**Also, on a side note, I nominate my two genin for the village's next chunin exam. Naruto participating shouldn't be a problem - I was able too as well, right?**

**Mission Progress Report**

**Front Lines at Iwa border with Suna Shinobi - A Rank**

**Team Leader: Tsume Inuzuka**

**Mission Progress Summary:**

**Front lines have been teeming with fights. We have lost two chunin in the conflict, had multiple injuries, and though supplies are not running low, they soon will at the rate the medic-nin are using them. We stockpile what we can, but we need more in case the Iwa-shinobi throw more at us.**

**The other side seems affected by our assaults, but they are getting bolder in their attacks. Intel reports indicate that without any sign of the Kiiroi Senkou, they're getting more confident - this is information gathered from conversations barely heard, so we cannot verify or refute the validity of this statement.**

**We need more fighters and supplies. We can't keep up at the rate we're going. They have more soldiers. We request more aide and need a response soon.**

**Reconnaissance Team Division 2 has also just reported that Kannabi bridge has been reconstructed in the past year, but that they did not have enough high-power explosives on hand and there were too many enemy shinobi at the bridge. They report that it is bigger and stronger than before.**

**T & I Report**

**Nara Shikaku**

**With the intel provided by our T & I operatives and ANBU reconnaissance missions, a terror tactic has been devised. Please find enclosed details for the tactic.**

**Kannabi Bridge also must be destroyed again. It makes it too easy for Iwa Shinobi to transport supplies. More information on Kumo's resources and supply routes are needed. Info on those fronts are outdated since the last war.**

**The village wide chuunin exams must also not garner too much attention. Though it might help with village moral, intelligence recommends secrecy for the safety of the prospective chuunin hopefuls.**

**Intel Report**

**Jiraiya**

**So my new book is coming out soon. All this traveling has been good for my research. I'll get you a signed copy. Or two. Make sure Kakashi gets one! And keep them away from Naruto. Kushina would kill me if he got his hands on them at this age. Give him a few years . . .**

**But, seriously, you'll be pleased to know that many in Iwa are terrified by the moniker Konoha no Nidaime Kiiroi Senkou. However, that may not last - Naruto has not been seen on the battlefield since this war started. I know he's young. He's only seven.**

**But, we might need him to put on a show on the front lines - nothing too fancy.**

_**From the Desk of the Sandaime Tsuchikage in the second year of the Fourth Shinobi War** _

**Monthly Mission Update Report from the front Lines**

**Fifth Division - Long Range**

**The Konoha-nin are getting soft. We know we're hitting them. Our intel mission operatives never came back - missing in action, but they sent a message. Inuzuka Tsume was the last command operative. Her nose is making it difficult to sneak by, as well as the Hyuuga. We need another contingent of Explosion Corps Operatives to try to blind the Hyuuga and try to mess with the Inuzuka's nose.**

**A swift response would be appreciated.**

**Deidara's Personal Report**

**Gari-oji's stupid. He insists that I call him** _**Gari-sensei** _ **. When are we going to be transferred to somewhere more exciting. I mean there's nothing -**

**Okay, so that was an attack. But I'm back and the sentiment remains. This was the first fight in forever! I don't get to blow too many things up, and it never lasts long. Seriously, Jiijii, you have to give me something to work with. Like Kurotsuchi. I'm kind of sick of her. Can you call her back to the village?**

**Report from Front Lines**

**Kitsuchi**

**The last shipment of supplies has not been delivered and is three weeks overdue. Hopefully this hawk will not go astray. Reinforcements and supplies needed. Konoha-nin are gaining a better layout of the land here. . . request from intel division requested. Front lines is at a stalemate, but Konoha-nin will get the upper hand soon enough. More medical supplies needed. Not so many deaths - but many injuries.**

**The Kiiroi Senkou has also not been seen yet. An attack needs to be made soon. The brat is about seven or eight now. Soon, they will not hesitate to bring him to the front lines. They might also not risk it. Permission to begin full on assault requested.**

**Also, Deidara, of the explosion corps contingent you sent, has been acting strange. He seems almost as if he's going to spring at any moment and . . . explode. We are proceeding in all altercations with him cautiously, but we're not sure when he'll "blow up," for lack of a better word.**

**Letter from the Yondaime Raikage to the Sandaime Tsuchikage**

**The forces going against Konoha have not much affect in breaking Konoha ranks and Konoha has taken their offence up since our last correspondence. Our sensor ninja check to make sure that all incoming shinobi are ours and not under henge.**

**Kiri has also passively joined the war against us. Intel reports have notified me that they are blocking our people from getting to your people.**

**News of the bloodline purges reports that they have stopped and did not last as long as many expected.**

**I am sending some of my shinobi to you to exchange some sensitive information that my brother has just become privy to. He doesn't have a perfect idea of exactly what it is, but it is something only he would be able to know. He has written a full report.**

**I look forward to your opinion of what it means.**

**Yondaime Raikage E**

**P.S. Please disregard my brother's poor rap skills.**

**Personal Report:**

**Kurotsuchi**

**Deidara-nii is really starting to scare me . . . He's acting like I was during the chuunin exams two years ago. Except it happens whenever he explodes something on the enemies. I mean, it's great that he's fighting for us . . . but it can't be healthy.**

**I . . .**

**Deidara-nii almost doesn't even seem to register if one of our people is near the enemy. He thinks it's beautiful. I think he needs help, jiijii . . . I can't seem to . . . Deidara seems to think that there's not enough fighting. And it's so wrong . . . he shouldn't like this war . . . I understand hating those stupid Konoha-nin . . .**

**And I think I was just like him, but he just seems to like the explosions. I think he wants to** _**become** _ **an explosion . . . I'm worried for Deidara-nii. Please get him out of here. I think he needs to mellow out.**

**Formal Complaint:**

**Filed by: Deidara**

**I formally protest my removal from the front lines. I am much more useful to Iwa if I am allowed to fight with the rest of my contingent.**

**I also request that I be informed as to who my accuser is. I should be allowed to defend any and all actions on my part. I have only ever served my village.**

**Status of Complaint: Reviewed, noted, and denied.**

_**From the Desk of The Yondaime Kazekage in the third year of the Fourth Shinobi War** _

**Outpost Report:**

**Baki**

**Please take Gaara back to the village. Although he has mellowed out significantly, and has advanced in his training, he misses his friends. He also reports that his friend - nine - is going to be sent to the battlefield in a year, but he wants to tell you that himself. Konoha finally has a plan and an efficient way to communicate it with us.**

**We await your orders on this end - and on his friend's end.**

**Gaara also insists that I reiterate that it is time for him to go back - that it's been three years and the ANBU have been complacent long enough.**

**Report:**

**Pakura**

**The border is secure on our front. Coordinating attacks and making sure that Iwa does not get through Ame - as Kiri told us to watch for - has proved instrumental in foiling Iwa's infiltration plans.**

**Iwa also seems to be demoralized, though no reason for that is known at present. Some of my subordinates speculate that it could be because the Explosion Corps seems to have been halved in that the explosions are not as powerful or even present.**

**No further information is available at this moment.**

**Konoha-nin have stretched themselves between both fronts, but assure us that with Kiri's help, they're fine. They don't appear very confident in Kiri's loyalty and so while they are helping us here, we can assume that not all Konoha -nin are here.**

**The battle ground is being won slowly. We've had many more injuries since my last report, but with the new medics trained courtesy of the sannin Tsunade, we've only had one chuunin die and the rest of the injured are in recovery.**

**Most of the injuries are courtesy of the Explosion Corps, and so since it appears they've retreated a bit, the workload for the medics has abated.**

**Thank you for sending the relief - the newly promoted Jounin, Shirou, is eager to please and I'm eager to get home and rest.**

**Until my next report.**

**Intel Report**

**We have received news from Jiraiya the sannin's spy network and our own unconfirmed sources that Iwagakure has suffered heavy damage to its infrastructure and have named Deidara of Iwa's explosion corps a nuke-nin.**

**Now is a prime time to attack Iwa. We await your orders.**

**Gaara's Personal Report to Dad**

**So, Naruto has an idea. And I think it's going to be amazing. But, he needs access to everything.**

**And I'm not going to give you anymore information until you bring me home. You said you would after three years. And it's been three years. So, I'll tell you half the plan when we meet - because Naruto has a two stage plan and the second stage kind of depends on the first stage and . . . it's easier to explain in person.**

**Be sure to warn the ANBU that I'm coming home. And make sure Matsuri-chan gets my letter. And make sure my room's been aired out and Yashamaru**

**Until then, dad!**

**Oh, hey! You know how I'm going to be ten soon? Well, Naruto's eleven, and Kankuro's thirteen and he keeps telling me I'll get it soon. But Naruto doesn't. And anyway, why does Kankurou keep talking about girls? And why hasn't Naruto mentioned Hinata-chan in forever?**

**And how are babies made? Because it's been bothering me and Baki-sensei refuses to tell me.**

**Report from front lines -**

**Jounin Shirou**

**The plan that the Konoha-nin doesn't make much sense to me. All that the blond kid is doing is incapacitating the enemy-nin with that Hiraishin jutsu of his. Since he's arrived on the battlefields, no one has died, on our side, and, from what we can tell, no one has died on their side either.**

**He says he has a plan. And it might have to do with his appearance. Intel reports a drop in moral, and we can practically feel their fear. Not only that, but their counter attacks and defenses have weakened and we've been able to push them back two kilometers.**

**After three years of this war, it looks as if we've reached the final stretch. But, he's too idealistic.**

_**From the Desk of the Yondaime Raikage, the desk's replacements, and the floor in the fourth year of the Fourth Shinobi War** _

**Mission Report: Darui**

**The Kiiroi Senkou has returned, though he mostly only knocks our shinobi unconscious. We are not quite certain as to why, but every time he appears, he mostly maims our shinobi or knocks them unconscious.**

**Iwa's front report that he is there as well. It appears that while even though he is here, he is there. It is causing quite a bit of panic. No one can catch him, and he's not killing anyone, but everyone is on edge, thinking he might show up at any moment - though we've made sure to through all his Hiraishin Kunai back to them.**

**Also, the fact that he hasn't killed anyone, is making my subordinates nervous, and Shii speculates that he must have some bigger plan.**

**We need to somehow catch him, or surrender, because this Yellow Flash is just as fast as his father, and though he's not as deadly, we can't predict what he will do next.**

**Omoi's Personal Report to Bii-sama**

**He broke my leg in the latest skirmish - that little blond. What if it gets infected, despite the efforts of the best medics, and I die? And then you, Karui and Samui swear revenge and go after the blond kid.**

**Only, what if you fail in catching him, and what if he isn't nearly as nice to you as he was to me and injures you in such a way as to disfigure your faces so that none of you can get married, have kids, and name them after me. Though Karui doesn't have much of a chance of that anyway, being flat chested as she is . . .**

**Sensei . . . Help! I can't die! You need to have kids and name them after me in case I die. So don't swear revenge on me until your kids are grown!**

**Kirabi's Formal Petition to go to the Front Lines**

**Yo, bro,**

**I couldn't find any other form that was right for what I'm telling ya, so this will have to do.**

**My adorable mentee might soon become an amputee, so I'm leaving to do my duty to those that rely on me.**

**See you in a month, fool ya fool.**

**-B**

**Request from Carpenter Shop**

**If the rate that the Yondaime Raikage breaks his desks anymore increases, we will need an advance for a bulk order to keep up with the Yondaime-sama.**

**Or you might need to hire more carpenters.**

_**Glimpses through the years from the Journal on the Desk of the Yondaime Mizukage in the four years of the Fourth Shinobi War** _

**Notes on fellows One and Nine**

**Mizukage's eyes only**

**Nine reports school of fish on One's territory. Backup sent - hunter-nin, jounin, and chuunin. The last loyal Swordsman of the Mist was deployed as Commander. One reports that he will be leader before Nine. The usual banter.**

**Secondary Report**

**School of Fish neutralized.**

**On another note, one and nine want training tips, and Isobu has created a second pocket dimension for us to coordinate, although he still refuses to attack his brothers two, four, five, and eight. Six is still without contact, but one insists that we bring him to our conversations soon. Seven has not been contacted either . . .**

**I was visited by our friend in Ame again and informed nine and one of his help. One and Nine are eager to meet him as well. Especially nine - seems to have a fixation with Orange-ame's name . . .**

**Nine gave me seals - somehow - and asked me to help him distribute them on enemy territory. I sent envoys to go.**

**It's been two weeks since my last entry - it has been reported that my scout found an island in Kumo and left one of Nine's seals before getting just on the border of the village - Kumo - and placing other seals at different intervals around the village defences. Nine has still not told me his exact plan, but that he doesn't plan on implementing it quite yet.**

**Nine reports that his Uchiha teammate has succeeded in replicating the Yondaime Raikage's jutsu to a degree, he is still not as fast. They plan on getting first hand experience in observation soon with the mirror eyes. Nine is also doing very well with his summoning collaboration and his other teammate has almost perfected her iryou-ninjutsu under the slug.**

**One informs of a massive sand storm to the west.**

**It's been a year and one and nine still haven't told me how they plan to end the war - but have assured me that they** _**do** _ **have a plan. Reports have reached across the world about the Konoha no Niidaime Kiiroi Senkou. Reports have also reached around the world that no one has died at the Kiiroi Senkou's hand.**

**I have not been able to have a meeting with one and nine yet, but the friend from Ame finds it amusing, if a bit unorthodox.**

**I think I'm beginning to understand nine's plan, though, and since one has begun bothering the Suna ANBU - apparently Suna adopted that system from Konoha - as soon as he got home . . . then I think I understand what one and nine are going to do.**

**My shinobi are doing well. And the bloodline shinobi are also focusing even harder on defending the village - I revealed to only the bloodline shinobi that there are enemies of Kiri that wish to cripple our village and that they are our strength.**

**Though there is still much distrust, the younger generations are more loyal than they were before I gave the speech.**

**I'm looking forward to my eventual retirement . . . the paperwork is not too difficult to manage, but the politics . . .**

**I feel like an old man and I'm only eighteen. . .**

**Jonin Report**

**Terumii Mei**

**Kumo's jinchuuriki has arrived on the front lines. Back-up requested. No time.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

**A** _**Very** _ **Brief Synopsis**

When Naruto was three years old, he wandered Konoha - the night that Kumo attempted to steal away the Hyuga heiress, he saved her. In response, Naruto was put under the care of Hatake Kakashi - ANBU captain, and housed in ANBU headquarters, even as Kumo demanded his head and as he became good friends with Hinata.

Then, at the age of five he took the Academy genin test and passed ending up on a genin team with Haruno Ichirou and Inuzuka Hana under Shiranui Genma as Team Nine, and Naruto made more friends. Naruto learned many new jutsu - most notably, the Hiraishin, and after a year, and a scary mission they were nominated for the chunin exams in Suna.

While in Suna, Naruto and friends made a new friend - Subaku no Gaara - and met 'enemies' that seemed cool in some ways, but at the end of the day were 'enemies' because of the fact that war broke out at the end of it.

With Team Nine promoted - and Ichirou out of Commission due to a cyst in his head, Naruto was put back onto a team with Kakashi as his sensei, but now with Haruno Sakura, an aspiring medical ninja with the dream to heal her brother, and Uchiha Sasuke, one of Naruto's closest friends with the dream of becoming Police Chief and copying the Yondaime Raikage's signature jutsu.

Naruto also discovered his father's heritage.

Throughout the first four years of the war against Kumo and Iwa, Naruto was mostly on the back burner - though that didn't stop his relationship with Hinata-chan from going downhill due to miscommunication and childish assumptions - and it was only in the fourth year of the war that the Kiiroi Senkou showed up on the front lines with any sort of presence.

And thanks to Naruto's shaky 'friendship' with his tenant - though said fox would greatly protest the validity of such a label - Naruto was able to communicate with Konoha's allied jinchuuriki and come up with a plan to end the war with the fewest casualties possible.

**In the fifth year of the Fourth Shinobi War**

At the age of eleven, Naruto was living the life: people loved him, him - the hero of the Leaf, he had great friends - you know, the teme, Sakura, Kakashi-nii, Hana-chan, and everyone else - and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he _would_ become Hokage. Maybe he wouldn't be the Godaime - because let's face it Jiijii was _old_ \- but he would definitely follow in the footsteps of his father and great-grandfather (and great-great-granduncle, now that he thought of it, because wasn't the Shodai his great-grandfather's brother or something like that?)

But even though everything was great, he'd seen the front lines - and it wasn't pretty. Itachi-san and Shisui-san had gotten really hurt . . . All these people . . . they had to have a family like Shisui-san and Itachi-san. Naruto vividly remembered how much more of a teme Sasuke was while Itachi was in the hospital. So, Naruto and a couple of his 'people' had come up with a plan, and it was almost time to put it into action.

See, Naruto refused to kill anyone, but he _did_ mark them all with Hirashin.

To end this war, all Naruto and some of his 'people' would have to perform a couple of well-coordinated pranks to let the other nations _know_ that yes, he could get into their villages in the blink of an eye, and yes, he would do it for the petty reason of pranking them to hell and back.

And that's why Naruto was headed to the Hokage tower at six o'clock in the morning.

Jiijii had not been jumping for joy when he was informed that no, Naruto was not killing the Kumo or Iwa ninja on the front lines, and Naruto had never given anyone an explanation as to why he didn't. Naruto hadn't gotten into trouble about it yet, and beyond a "knowing grimace" - or something like that – old man Hokage had left it at that - though he seemed to become less and less understanding as the years dragged on.

However, whenever Naruto showed up on the battlefield, the enemy ninja were either severely hurt or knocked unconscious causing the remaining enemy-nin to flee with their casualties and lose ground. So, Konoha was 'winning' without killing anyone.

Still, it was about time to face the music and finish this . . .

"And make sure Kakashi gets over here within the next two hours. I have to speak with him."

"Hey, jiijii! Why do you need to talk to Kakashi-nii?"

"Naruto, you know the door is there for a reason, right?"

"Who needs doors when you're as awesome as me, jiijii?"

Naruto grinned cheekily as the 'old man' simply puffed smoke from his pipe, a small glare aimed at the eleven year old.

"What did you need to speak to me about so urgently that you had to Hiraishin into my office?" He asked with a sigh.

The blond eleven year old chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, "Well, you know how I'm not killing anyone in the war?"

"Ah, yes. About that - "

"I had to leave them alive for my plan to work."

Smoke escaped the Hokage's lips as his brows furrowed, "Your plan?"

"Yep! See, I left a Hiraishin mark on everyone I could whenever I was on the battlefield. It wouldn't have helped if they were dead and with a hiraishin mark, ya know. Now, I have lots of markers in Kumo and Iwa and on the front lines. And I have a friend that put my markers on Kumo's walls - or was it Iwa - and Gaara, Sasuke, Mizukage-ji, and I have been planning the most epic prank ever! And -"

"Stop there, Naruto . . . You've thought of this long and hard, it seems."

"Heck, yeah! That's how we're going to end the war. If they know that I can show up whenever and wherever - no matter where they are, they'll listen, -ttebayo."

The Hokage took a few more puffs of his pipe before he nodded.

"Alright."

"Awesome!" the blond yelped jumping up in enthusiasm, "I won't let you down!"

"But first, Kakashi recommended you for a psych evaluation -"

"Wait, what? Why would Kakashi-nii . . ."

"Naruto!"

And that was the last thing Naruto heard before he hiraishined out of there and to Kakashi-nii's marker. Kakashi-nii must be out of his mind. He - the great Naruto - didn't need a psych evaluation (Whatever that was)! And he needed to get Kakashi-nii to explain this, right away.

"Kakashi-sensei, what this about me needed a psych evalumation?"

"The word is evaluation . . ." Kakashi-nii sighed and then perked up, "Eh? The Hokage's making you go to the Yamanaka because of me? But . . . I thought I put that in my report years ago . . ."

"Wah? Kakashi-nii! Why would I need . . . I thought . . . I don't like you anymore! Stop laughing, you bastard!"

"Sorry, sorry! It's just, you seemed depressed about something and when Hokage-sama didn't do anything about it, I assumed he'd dismissed it."

"So . . . you . . . I'll recommend _you_ for a sick evalumation!"

"Psych evaluation." Kakashi-teme corrected without missing a beat and with that annoying smile on his face, "And you know, it's just in time too, we're not heading to the front lines again for a week, and -"

"Kakashi-nii!"

"All you have to do is talk about your feelings to a Yamanaka."

"What? Why would I want to -"

"Hahaha!"

"Kakashi-nii!"

"Don't worry about it," and before Naruto could blink, Kakashi-nii had grabbed him and started walking towards ANBU headquarters.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei, you know I don't live there anymore. I haven't for four years. Kakashi-nii, what are you doing? Why are you heading to the interrogation section. Kakashi-sensei? Kakashi-nii? Hey, this isn't funny! What are you doing?"

"Hello, Yamanaka-sama."

"Kakashi-kun, it's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Yep, I'm here to make sure he doesn't get away, and if he does - to bring him back."

"Ah, Naruto-kun, Hokage-sama told me that I would be seeing you later this week -"

"What? You knew about this too?" As Naruto spoke, he was twisting his arm, climbing up Kakashi's leg trying to weaken Kakashi-nii's grip and staring right into "Blond dude's" eyes, "I just found out about this ten minutes ago."

Yamanaka-sama stifled a laugh.

"Naruto, you shouldn't try to have a conversation while trying to get out of my grip like a monkey,"

_Glareglareglare, die under the power of my glare._

"Sasuke's glare is more convincing."

"Grr, you're so stupid, Kakashi-teme."

"Eh, did you say something."

"Alright, alright, that's enough both of you. Naruto-san, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing!"

"He hasn't been himself since he came back from bringing Ichirou back from Suna." Kakashi helpfully supplied.

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

"So, this is a long term problem?"

"What the heck are you on about?"

"It appears so, Yamanaka-sama."

"Have his habits changed?"

"Well, he eats as much ramen as usual, complains about Sasuke and says he keeps in regular contact with Gaara-kun. Hey, Naruto, when was the last time you talked to Hinata-chan?"

Naruto froze in Kakashi's grip. Throughout the entire conversation he'd been struggling to escape - he couldn't hiraishin without taking Kakashi-nii with him. However, at the question, he just froze. It had been a while since someone other than Sasuke or Gaara brought her up - though they only seemed to do it every other month or so.

"I think that's the root of the problem, Kakashi-kun. Take him to talk to Hinata-san."

"What? No! You can't, she won't, she doesn't - Kakashi you bastard!"

"And I expect to see you back here tomorrow, Naruto-kun."

ooOoo

Hyuga Hinata had grown up a bit in the past four years, and was a proud kunoichi of Konoha. She enjoyed training with her cousin, sister, and teammates, and quite often had dinner at her sensei's house.

It was really fortunate that Mikoto-sensei made sure to only ever invite Hinata when Naruto was off on a mission, at least in Hinata's opinion.

She had successfully avoided him - since that day at team assignments when he'd completely ignored her - and stuck to places she knew he would never be - like the vegetable stand in the Market, or behind trees.

She avoided him, but she watched him: watched him grow, watched him be oh so determined. And she admired that. It made her feel that if he could do it, so could she. She just couldn't understand why he'd stopped being her friend. It had bothered her from the start and bothered her now. What had happened?

So, after four years, she was very much surprised when Kakashi-nii showed up with Naruto - who appeared to be struggling.

"Yo, Hinata-chan!"

"A-ah . . ."

"Hello, Kakashi-san . . ."

And silence. Naruto - still struggling to pull his chuunin flak jacket from Kakashi-nii's grasp - began to twitch and then collapsed.

"Um," she began, not quite sure how to continue.

"Naruto here has something to say, don't you Naruto," and he dangled the blond a bit over the ground.

More silence.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled - and only Kakashi understood what he'd said. He hadn't meant to blurt it out quite like that - it was meant to be a bit louder and a lot less jumbled. Her furrowed brow was not helping him say it again - at all.

"Um, what did you say?"

His teeth clenched, and Kakashi lowered him to the ground a bit more.

"I'm sorry," and with that, he yanked himself more forcibly than before and hiraishined out of there.

He missed the wide eyed look on Hinata's face.

"What?" Hinata asked, the shock evident in at least her voice, if not her face.

"Well . . ." Kakashi would have continued - he really would have! - except an ANBU showed up.

"Kakashi-san, the Hokage wishes to see you."

"What?"

"Well, you heard him, Hinata-san. I'll see you around."

And then he and the ANBU were gone and Hinata was left alone with her thoughts - how could Naruto just . . . he didn't even explain himself, and just disappeared! That coward! The more she thought on it, the angrier she became, and the more she was convinced that she needed to find Naruto and make him explain this . . . this nonsense!

She was done with his stupid . . .

She hadn't made him explain before because he hurt her, and now he was _sorry!?_ Well, that wasn't good enough! She didn't even know why he was sorry and . . .

She was tired of not knowing.

ooOoo

"You needed to see me, Hokage-sama? Only, I was just with Naruto and he had his psych evaluation with Yamanaka Inoichi a while ago and -"

"Yes, Kakashi-kun, how would you like to be the Hokage?" The Hokage interrupted, barely taking his pipe out of his mouth and staring at Kakashi with a stare that made him slightly uncomfortable.

"W-wha-"

"I'm old. And you're as good a candidate as any," then the Hokage muttered something under his breath - it almost sounded like Danzo - that Kakashi couldn't really make out because it lacked articulation. But, he could hazard a guess.

"Ahaha, I'm not sure," he responded rubbing the back of his head nervously. Because the Hokage couldn't possibly be serious. "I'm a bit young, don't you think?"

"Maybe, but the council wants the teacher of the yellow flash – first or second, and since Jiraiya refuses, that leaves us with you."

"I don't think -"

"That's dangerous for a shinobi, Kakashi. Think over it. You don't have to decide right away."

"Thank you, Hokage-sa -"

"I expect your answer tomorrow."

"Ah-"

"Remember to take the door when you leave, and send in whoever is outside that door!"

He should have run away and avoided this meeting, but no. He had to be a good shinobi and talk to the Hokage. He glared as he left the office, pulling out his favorite orange book and leaving waving the little pink haired - wait a moment.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?"

His little medic chunin - who looked so much like Rin right at that moment that it hurt - stared at him for a moment before waving the medical forms in front of his face.

"I have to get this paperwork cleared for my big brother. His surgery is tomorrow."

"Ah, already?"

"Yep, goodbye Kakashi-sensei!"

She was gone, and he was left wishing that someone else would go ahead and be Hokage so that he wouldn't have to. It was always Obito's dream anyways . . . Though, perhaps _that_ was a good reason to be Hokage - besides wanting to protect everyone, of course, but he did that regardless.

Ah, well. At least his beloved orange book didn't demand anything of him.

ooOoo

Hinata found Naruto after two hours of searching - though, she would have given up much sooner if she could have simply forgotten that look on his face as he said that he was sorry - and she was very surprised to find him at the memorial stone. His spot had always been the Hokage Mountain, for as far as she could remember. In fact, that painting he'd made of his mother was still there - right beside his father, and that seemed like a more likely place. That's why she looked there first.

And yet, here he was staring at the names of those - like his father and mother - that had died for the village. Though, were their names even there? She wasn't sure.

But, that was beside the point. She'd come here to talk to Naruto.

"Naruto-k - Naruto-san, what did that mean?" It was the first time she'd really talked to him since they were six . . . she felt the honorific was appropriate. However, she noticed his shoulders tense as soon as the words left her mouth.

"What do you mean? It didn't mean anything."

She frowned and walked around him to get a better look at his face. His jaw seemed clenched and he was almost glaring at the stone.

"You're not going to explain why you suddenly stopped speaking to me?"

"What's there to explain?"

That was it, she'd had it! "I thought we were friends." Why couldn't she just leave him, why did she have to listen to his callous stupid - and yet his face. He looked so sad.

"You _have_ friends, why would you need me?"

Couldn't he understand? Why did he have to be so stupid?

"Because they're not Naruto."

He finally looked into her eyes - after four years . . . had it really been so long - and stared. She almost felt ready to cry. Why did she even try.

"I'm sorry for being a terrible friend," he finally responded and looked away, "Can . . . can we be friends again?"

And she really didn't know how to respond. What did you say to someone that had ignored you for four years for no reason whatsoever?

"I don't know, Naruto-kun," and that honorific slipped out, "I still admire you - I never stopped - and I never wanted to stop being your friend, but I don't know Naruto-kun . . . it's up to you, I think. I don't really understand why you stopped talking to me. You weren't at my graduation. You stopped looking me in the eye. . . . But I . . . you'll have to work hard. And . . . I've never stopped wanting to be your friend . . . so, I'm giving you one more chance."

There, it was done, she turned around to walk away, but now he was in front of her with an almost panicked look in his eyes.

"I'll make it up to you. You'll see! I'll be the best friend ever and . . . you'll see! Once this war is over, I'll . . . tomorrow! Let's go to Ichiraku Ramen - they have great food! Please?"

"Um . . . okay?" because his hands were holding her shoulders almost too tightly - and now he was gone, and she was alone - he'd flashed away, a glint in his eyes that she hadn't seen in a long time - probably because she hadn't seen him all that often in the past few years.

But, it was comforting - it was such a Naruto thing to do - and at least that hadn't changed in all that time.

ooOoo

For the past five years since Ichirou had been told he needed to lay off the missions because of the cyst in his head, he had opened up a dango shop - with the help of his parents. However, as annoying as it was, his sister made sure he still trained every day. After all, he was still a chunin of the village.

And though his sister kept telling him he needed to get even better for when he went back to active duty, it was too annoying to put in any more effort. He was content with life as a civilian.

So, it was only a slight shock when she burst in, ordered a stick of dango and promptly told him that he should sell the place because tomorrow he'd be going into surgery.

"But, why? I'm perfectly happy as I am. I don't feel like being a ninja anymore, Sakura."

And that was probably the worst thing to say . . .

"So, what? All my work is going to be for nothing? I worked really hard. I'm ready! And this isn't just about you being healthy enough to be a ninja! You idiot! This is about you being healthy enough to defend yourself without risk of dying so quickly in a fight! So just shut up and be at the hospital tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll just have to drag you there myself!"

And she was out of the room, leaving him alone with nothing to do . . . Who knew his sister could be so headstrong and stubborn? Because he sure as hell didn't.

"How annoying."

ooOoo

Uchiha Itachi and Inuzuka Hana entered the dango shop just as a pink haired little girl left.

"Hi, Itachi-san, Hana-san. Bye Itachi-san, Hana-san!"

"Was that . . . Sakura?"

"I think so . . ."

"Oh . . . well, are you sure that you should be moving about? You only did just get out of the hospital . . ."

"I'm perfectly capable of eating dango."

"I'm sure you are, but walking is another matter entirely, don't you think."

"It wasn't that bad of an injury."

"You were in the hospital for a week."

If glares could kill – which, considering he was an Uchiha, was perfectly plausible – Hana would be dead.

"Oh, come on, even the Hokage must have gone to the hospital at some point."

"It wasn't that bad."

"Yes. Yes it was. Ask Sasuke. He thinks the sun shines out of your -"

"That's enough."

"-and he was still freaked out when I picked you up."

"Dango is more important."

"That's what every dango shop owner wants to hear. The usual?" Interrupted Ichirou with a straight face.

Hana stared at Itachi and Ichirou, fighting off a smile before she eventually folded over in giggles.

"You know, you're the one paying for it, right Itachi?" she asked as she gathered herself back together and they took their seats and nodding at Ichirou with a smile, though he seemed to be haphazardly running the shop this afternoon.

"Yes, which makes it all the sweeter. I know I paid for it with my own sweat and blood."

"So, wait . . . it wouldn't be even sweeter paid by _my_ sweat and blood?" Hana had a smile on her face as she said this.

"I didn't say that."

"You _implied_ it. What, my blood is not worthy enough for the mighty Uchiha? See if I ever go get dango with _you_ ever again." There was no way he could win with this, which made it all the more fun.

"That's not what I meant Hana, and you know it."

"No, I don't, you -"

"It means it'll be sweeter for you."

She stopped and stared for a moment before a smile crossed her lips.

"Aren't you sweet this afternoon? Maybe you _shouldn't_ have dango today . . ."

Itachi's glare sent her into another fit of giggles just as the dango was placed in front of them.

ooOoo

Neji was on patrol again. With Lee. And Lee was walking on his hands. Again.

"If I cannot finish this lap on my hands, then I will finish the next two laps on my toes while carrying Neji!"

Familiarity definitely bred contempt, because the more he looked at that spandex, the more he could imagine himself shredding it to pieces. Except taht no, Lee had tons more in his bag, and Neji did not want to loan his clothes to Lee. Ever.

It wasn't even as if he had Tenten around to distract him from the hideousness that was his teammate. Yes, Neji would grudgingly admit that Lee was a valuable teammate, maybe even a friend. But after ten hours on patrol with only Lee, Neji was at the end of his ninja wire.

"Would you give it a rest, Lee?"

"But, Neji! The power of youth demands that I continue!"

"Lee, the power of youth demands that I stop you now. Before I kill you. So stop. Now."

A beat of silence . . . thank Kami, it seemed he'd _finally_ sto- nope. False alarm.

"Neji, I think you should just give up already. It's your fate to listen to my power of youth!"

No. Oh, no. Impossible. Lee actually - no.

"Lee, Tenten isn't here to stop me from doing anything I might regret. So I suggest you stop now."

"You can't stop the power of youth!"

"How's this for youth?" A halfhearted swipe met Lee's forearm as he blocked the oncoming attack, and Neji groaned in annoyance. Lee was getting better, even if Neji hadn't really been trying.

Just one hour to go, and then freedom. Just one hour to go and then freedom. Just one hour . . . Yeah, he could do this . . . even without Tenten to keep him sane.

At least he hoped he could.

ooOoo

Something was happening. Shikamaru wasn't sure what it was, but it had the _Nara_ in a frenzy, and so obviously, he should pay attention to it. There is nothing more terrifying than a motivated Nara, after all.

And boy was everyone motivated. They were moving about. Whispering. Being generally troublesome. And for a Nara to be troublesome, there had to be some _really_ troublesome shit about to go down.

So Shikamaru stopped his cloud gazing for the day and tried to be as quiet as possible, because as troublesome as being like a ninja was, it was more troublesome to be caught unawares when shit hit the fan.

That'd be one long bath . . .

"The Hokage said that something will be happenning soon, and to be ready in case it went wrong."

"And how much more ready are we supposed to be."

"He said the war will either be over, or will get worse. Something about the Kiiroi Senkou. He simply wants us to be ready for the worst while we hope for the best. It shouldn't be much longer."

"Shikaku . . ." Shikamaru heard his mother sigh and a rustle of clothes that immediately caused him to back away and look for a place to hide. "I'm ready for all of this to be over."

Shikamaru had never heard that tone in his mother's voice. She was usually nagging at him to do something. Yet for once, she sounded more tired than tense. For once, she sounded . . . well like a _Nara_.

ooOoo

Mei was tired. Four years. That's how long this war had been going – and it didn't seem to be about to end anytime soon. After that hurried mission report about a month ago things had almost seemed to intensify.

Yes, they'd had backup, in the form of Zabuza and his little thirteen year old apprentice, but blood was still being shed.

There had been reports that Konoha was going to really get things going soon - which was a rich statement considering the fact that the damn little yellow flash hadn't actually killed anyone. Spoiled little brat. He probably didn't even understand the severity of the war. The Mizukage didn't seem to really be all that concerned with it and, according to Zabuza, the war was supposed to end soon. It didn't make much sense. Apparently there was a plan, but there was only so much that plans could do.

Was that an explosion?

Damn. And there went the peacefulness of the night. Should have known better. Peace could not last long in the face of war.

ooOoo

Gaara was happy to be home. He was even more excited to see Matsuri, with whom he was supposed to have a training session the next day, but that would have to wait. Naruto would be over soon to begin "Operation Super Prank of the Shinobi Hidden Villages by three of the best jinchuuriki and their sidekick Uchiha." Yeah, Naruto came up with some weird names sometimes. So of course, Gaara needed to grab all the tools necessary that he'd promised and be ready to go this evening.

Which really sucked, cause you know, he just got home and all.

But he did as he needed to. Because they were nearing the end, and he _really_ wanted it to end. It was a shame that it had had to last as long as it did.

Gaara smiled when Naruto appeared - in a flash, of course - and didn't even frown too much when he was flashed elsewhere with all his supplies sealed in a scroll.

Because they were finally ending this, and that was what mattered most.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

'Iwagakure, an hour before dawn, is a beautiful village,' Naruto decided with a wide smile on his face before turning to his comrades.

"This is going to be the most awesome prank in the history of pranks! Even better than mom's picture on the Hokage mountain!"

Naruto was practically vibrating in excitement as he whispered those words and as he, Sasuke, Gaara, and big brother Yagura snuck around a corner. He'd only snuck around Iwa twice, but it was always alone, always as Shadow Clones, and always in a transformation. So, this was a nice change of pace. He had friends with him in this enemy territory, he was himself, and he didn't have to henge. After tonight it would be pointless. He had sent transformed shadow clones scouts ahead, though.

But hey, at least it's not the end of the world, yet.

That phrase often comforted him - it's not the end of the world. When ramen was not quite ready, well, at least it's not the end of the world. When Sasuke was being a teme, and let's face it, that was often, well, at least it's not the end of the world. When he had to sneak around Iwa with clone in a transformation, well . . . at least it's not the end of the world.

"Shut up, Naruto, we have to get the major prank ready, and you saying how awesome it will be won't get it done any faster."

Naruto glared at Sasuke. "You're just jealous," and he pointed his nose in the air with his eyes closed. It was okay, after all, he had eyes everywhere - Shadow Clones and all that.

"Sure. Whatever. Let's just get going."

Naruto nodded, with a somber expression that seemed out of place on his face before handing them a large stack of seals.

"Here, just make sure that you only activate it when I give the signal." And then Sasuke rolled his eyes and stalked off.

"What's with him?"

"I don't know…" Gaara responded, "But is it time to mess with all the shinobi in Iwa and Kumo or are we just standing around for shits and giggles?"

"Yeah, yeah, just one second."

Naruto fanned the remaining seals out before stopping randomly and handing some to both Yagura and Gaara.

"You know what to do." Naruto stated with an air of bravado that caused Gaara to laugh as he took the stack, grinning as he disappeared around a corner.

"Let's just get this over with with."

"Yeah, yeah!"

And the plan was put into motion.

ooOoo

Gaara's job was simple in this. He and Yagura would partner to wreak havoc as soon as Naruto activated all the seals at dawn. And by wreak havoc, he meant paint all over the Tsuchikage's home and office.

The sun has not quite finished rising, but already some Iwa ninjas are moving around the village, beginning their day. Gaara could almost imagine that living here was nice. He could almost forgive them for starting this war.

They were lucky that Naruto was determined to make this a game.

Gaara and Yagura had been in place to begin their part of the plan for thirty minutes. They were simply waiting on the signal from Naruto that would indicate they could begin. Which would happen any second now.

Any second now.

And still waiting.

An explosion shook the ground just when Gaara's patience with Naruto was about to wear thin, and then, checking to make sure he still had his Hiraishin kunai from Naruto, he grabbed big brother Yagura's hand and had his sand levitate him to the top of the Tsuchikage's tower.

Looking around, to appreciate Naruto's handiwork, tons of confetti could be seen on the ground, and the citizens of Iwa were running out kunais in hand. They seemed confused, which was Gaara's cue to begin the paint job.

"Come on big bro Yagura! We don't have much time!"

ooOoo

Naruto grinned as soon as he rounded the corner and found Sasuke again.

"Ready to go to Lightning?"

"I was born ready!"

"Then hurry up, I want to get home before Itachi is sent on another mission. He's hardly ever home these days."

Naruto stuck out his tongue before snapping his fingers. An explosion rocked the village, and Sasuke almost felt bad for the Iwa ninja, before Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and teleporting them to the inside of the Raikage's office, just under his desk.

"When did you get a seal here?"

Naruto looked confused for a minute before he grinned widely. "I'm not quite sure. I forget. But I think it was while one of my clones was doing recon. Recon is short for that really long word Kakashi stopped trying to get me to pronounce correctly."

"I know what recon is," Sasuke replied with a glare. He was so done with Naruto's shit, always pretending to be smarter than him when Naruto was really just spouting out things that Kakashi-sensei had told him. Not that Sasuke would ever admit to doing the same with his brother's words.

"Come on! It's time for Operation Scare the Ninjas!"

"That's not the name of the operation," Sasuke replied, still quite annoyed., even as Naruto smiled. "It might as well be."

And then Naruto disappeared in a yellow flash, and Sasuke could hear tons of explosions.

Knowing that Naruto would be back within a minute, and that he'd never hear the end of it if he didn't get something done, Sasuke got to work.

ooOoo

Kirabi opened his eyes blearily. He wasn't quite sure what had woken him up, perhaps it was the sliver of sunlight peeking out through the window, or the fact that he wasn't alone in his bed, which was really unusual. In fact, he can't remember ever having someone in his bed . . . What exactly had happened the night before? He couldn't quite remember, though it was on the tip of his tongue...

So, he glanced down and saw a mass of blond hair which immediately caused him to freeze he registered just who it was.

Because laying next to him was Yugito Nii, and if she thought for a second that he had taken advantage of her, she'd hit first and ask questions later. The twenty-six year old kunoichi was quite a spit-fire.

Memories from the night before were coming back, and it brought a sad smile to Kirabi's face. He remembered having an argument with his brother, and complaining about how stubborn his brother could be while Yugito made him some dinner, and they drank themselves into oblivion. Somehow they ended up on his bed, clothes on the floor. But he couldn't remember much beyond that... She had agreed with him, telling his brother that maybe they both should spend extended deployments on the front lines, because the war just seemed to be dragging on and on. Perhaps their combined firepower could put an end to this war.

Instead, his brother had furiously told them he would not risk it. He couldn't risk it. Their staying in the village would protect it and that was more important than the warfront. As long as the village was safe, and Kirabi and Yugito could defend it, then they could and would continue to fight.

So he lay in his bed with the only good thing to come about from the night's conversation. With Yugito curled up against him, still frustrated, because this war was so tiresome, and there was nothing he could do against it, he stretched a bit and buried his face in her hair. It smelled wonderful, and he doubted he'd get the chance to do this again. She'd probably kick him six ways to Sunday when she woke up and realized she'd let him have his way with her.

And then he sat up abruptly as an explosion rocked his building - was it just his building, or the whole village? It wasn't the only explosion either. He leapt out of bed, and Yugito was awake now too, grabbing his clothes and gear and jumping out the window only to stare around confused. There was no damage to the village, just piles and piles of confetti.

Was this a joke? Who in their right mind would pull a stunt like this? Were they asking for an ass-kicking?

It seemed the whole village had awoken too, because he wasn't the only one staring and gaping at the scene. There was a flash of yellow just out of the corner of his eye, and he leapt toward it, only for it to disappear and for him to stare at the paint on the wall.

"Naruto was here!" it read in bright orange, and he spun around at another flash.

"Surrender!" this one was black paint and spelled more hastily.

"What on Earth is going on?" yelled Yugito as she landed next to him.

"No id-" his response was interrupted by a yell coming from the direction of the Raikage's office, and he swung his head in that direction, brows furrowed before he headed there as quickly as possible.

It was as he was running to the office that he registered that Yugito had not beaten him up, and he couldn't help but be grateful for the distraction this attack had generated. Though, he was certain this was not the last he'd hear of last night from Yugito.

ooOoo

A had stormed into his office the moment the explosions had started, lacing his village in multicolored pieces of paper and paint. Those Konoha bastards!

"You!" he shouted, there was a kid, a Konoha kid - what was wrong with that village, why'd they send kids! - with his forehead protector proudly displayed, simply lounging on the chair in front of his desk.

The kid just looked over to his lazily, eyes changing color - and shit why an Uchiha? Didn't they care that they'd sent him to his death? - "Yo."

A glared. "What on Earth do you think you're doing? I'm going to kill you!" and then A was charging, but the kid dodged, and holy shit how?

The kid reappeared, lightning all around him, and that was his technique! The shitty Uchiha bastard had stolen his technique! A roared in rage going after the kid again.

"Hey, we're just here to talk," the kid actually smirked!

"Stand still you little thief."

And then Kirabi was there, and A knew that this kid would die, but it was just so infuriating that he wasn't already dead! He was the Raikage, and this kid couldn't be older than twelve! It was with a bright yellow flash that he felt his heart drop and A found himself having trouble breathing.

Because there, in the middle of his office, stood the little brat that had started all of this nearly ten years ago - the Second Yellow Flash.

"Hi! I'm Naruto! Sasuke, were you able to tell him?"

The Uchiha scowled and - did he pout? What the hell was wrong with these kids? - "No he just started attacking. Didn't give me a chance to say anything."

The blond brat frowned and then began to giggle waving his arms in the air needlessly, "You had one job! Anyway, old man Raikage, I have a message for you! I have hiraishin tags all over your village and have enough chakra to terrorize you all indefinitely with my own personal army of me. So surrender, or else. Here are the terms. Okay? See ya! Bye!" before any of them could do anything, the blond dropped a scroll, flashed to his friend, and then disappeared, leaving the village in a mess of confetti and paint.

"Yo bro, you know that conversation we had just last night? I think it's time to reevaluate your position and apologize, you might! Fool, ya fool!"

"His rhyming just gets worse every day," the Raikage heard Yugito mutter under her breath, and he vaguely registered a hickey on the side of her neck, but he wasn't exactly too focused on the occupants of the room, he had bigger things to worry about and think about. He was staring distastefully at the scroll in front of him as he bent to pick it up.

This day was looking to be a nightmare and a half.

ooOoo

The village of Iwagakure had been peaceful that morning, as Deidara was gathering his things. He was ready to go, finally. He was getting tired of having to hide his art. So he was getting ready to leave.

It wasn't new. It wasn't as if he just got up that morning thinking, 'I'm going to become a missing-nin today.'

No. Every morning, he would tell himself, 'This is the day. I'm leaving.' He'd pack, a bag, gather his kinjutsu scrolls, cover his hands and stroll out of his apartment, locking it, only to head to old man Tsuchikage's office for a new mission.

And while every morning, he would insist to himself that 'today's the day!' he never got around to it. He always felt like there needed to be a big sign in the sky telling him to leave - to surrender to his impulses.

But he was going to do it today! He was sure of it. He got up with his pack, headed out, and headed straight to the administration building with his shoulders slumped just a bit.

He was one of the only people up and about at this time of day, though he could see a couple of street vendors getting their carts ready.

"Hey! Deidara!" he turned around and saw Kurotsuchi running up to him.

"Morning."

"Are you ready for today's -"

Deidara really loved explosions, especially since the one that just happened interrupted Kurotsuchi.

The two Iwa shinobi looked up to sky to see fireworks and confetti, and all around were yellow flashes leaving behind painted messages. "Surrender!" was the most common.

And if that wasn't a sign, Deidara had no clue what was! It was telling him to surrender to his impulses! The explosions all around! He'd been waiting for this! He didn't know he was, but this was exactly why he had not left the village yet. He needed to leave with a bang, and now he was.

He smirked, glanced at Kurotsuchi, who had an expression of abject horror on her face, and said, "Well, that's my que to go. It's been fun, but I'm off. Tell old man Onoki that I'm done with this village."

And then he was off, making his own explosions and escaping from this village that for so long had held his art back.

"What are you talking about?! Deidara! What are you doing? Get back here!" her voice became more hysterical and confused with each word as he escaped from this prison, this restriction.

ooOoo

As Deidara left, causing even more destruction than whoever was attacking the village, Kurotsuchi ran straight to her grandfather's office, because if anyone could stop Deidara, it would be the old man.

"Grandpa!" she cries, only to stop as she registers that he's not alone in his office - a Kiri shinobi and a Suna shinobi - that can't be any more than twelve - are staring at her and her grandpa had been in the middle of a jutsu.

"What, Kurotsuchi? I was in the middle of something!"

"Deidara's leaving!"

Her grandfather lost his annoyed expression, and for a moment, Kurotsuchi held out hope. Maybe he'd go after Deidara? Gramps would be able to bring him back.

But he let her down with his words, "Let him go. We have bigger problems than that hothead right now."

Kurotsuchi had never felt more betrayed by her family - not when her grandfather had told her that he'd brokered peace with those tree hugging cowards back when she was just a little kid, not when her grandfather had her retreat from Suna.

This was the ultimate betrayal.

Because this betrayal had nothing to denying her the chance at revenge. It had everything to do with the fact that Deidara - he'd practically been family - was not important enough for her grandfather to drag back. Instead, that Suna-nin and that Kiri-nin that stood there so nonchalantly were more important. Strangers were more important than family.

And that made her so angry that she clenched her fists, bit her lip, and she could taste the blood, and started to cry.

"Just like that? You're just going to let him leave?"

"Kurotsuchi!" her grandfather's voice was cold, and he didn't even spare her a glance.

So, she lowered her head and responded as any good shinobi should. "Understood."

And then she turned around and leapt out of the window, heading for the village entrance, disobeying as any treasonous shinobi, or betrayed granddaughter, would. If her grandfather wouldn't bring that idiot back, then fine. She would just have to do it instead.

ooOoo

Gaara regarded the Tsuchikage with his eyes half lidded, not because he was bored, but because he had been up all night, and it was always at this time of day that he felt the sleepiest.

"So… you're just going to let her go?" Gaara asked.

"She's not a security risk," and then his hand were raised and he was about to perform his jutsu - that one with the dust that Gaara really disliked, "You two are."

"Hey, hey, we're just here to talk! Here, this scroll is for you, and it contains the terms of your surrender!"

Onoki scoffed, not even pausing in the execution of his technique before a wave of sand came towards him, which he naturally dodged, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see a yellow flash, and by the time he looked back at the two invading shinobi, they were gone. All that was left in his office was an overabundance of sand, a scroll, and a whole lot of paint on his wall making his office match the rest of his village.

ooOoo

A read the scroll out to his brother with the most sour, disgusted look on his face. It was honestly degrading that the Konoha ninja actually believed that they, the proud village of Kumogakure, would accept these terms.

"'So if you don't cease and desist, whatever that it, the old man says it's old people talk for stop, then I'll take it as an approval to continue terrorizing your village. And I might not be so nice next time!" As you can see, it's absolute bullcrap!"

There went another desk out the window.

"Bro, you got to go with the flow, and just let it go. It's obvious the squirt won't stop with his playing around, so we've just got to fold or else we'll be drowned. Fool, ya tool!"

"Shut up!"

B was almost amused by his brother's face. It wasn't that funny, considering their village's security had been breached.

"This is unacceptable! How? How has this child not been killed yet!"

"Maybe his nine tailed friend has something to do with it?"

"Shut up, Shi, no one asked you!" Shi dodged the chair sent his way.

"Yeah, Shi! Fool, ya tool! Don't you know? Don't you have tact? Don't you see, when you try, you get whacked?"

"And B! Stop with the rhymes, or you'll be the next one out the window!"

Only B wasn't looking at his brother, he was writing in his notebook his rhymes and completely ignoring him. Shi sighed. Sometimes working with those two really irked him.

"Perhaps we should contact Iwa, see if they received a similar . . . wake up call?"

"That's an even worse idea! We'll look weak!"

"We cannot ignore the message," Darui interrupted, "the fact of the matter is, the Yellow Flash said he won't stop, that it'll be worse than just wounded pride. The longer we delay in contacting Iwa, the longer we delay in contacting the Yellow Flash, which in turn, makes it more likely that he'll come back and as he said, next time he 'might not be so nice.' At least, that's how I believe you said he put it?"

A frowned. Then he sighed, before looked around his office and began shouting again.

"Get me a desk and seat in here? I want it here yesterday! And get a transponder unit sent to Iwa!"

ooOoo

Naruto got back to Konoha with Sasuke in tow after he'd dropped both Gaara and Yagura back at their respective villages. Strictly speaking, it wasn't absolutely necessary that the others be there for his 'epic prank.'

But he didn't want to be alone, and he wanted to send another message than the obvious threat, especially to the Leaders of the villages. Naruto could, and would, get more shinobi into his village. He could, and would, just as easily get them out before they could be hurt.

Which was pretty terrifying, given his chakra reserves.

He hadn't pulled his trump card yet - the seals on practically half the shinobi forces in each village - but he hoped he wouldn't have to. The plan was for him to continue in this manner for a week, and if Konoha had not received a response, then Naruto would have to just up the ante and go after shinobi.

Not to say he'd kill anyone.

Maybe maim…

"So, what are your plans for the rest of the day? You coming to dinner?" Sasuke asked, pulling Naruto out of his 'planning pranks' mode as he shook his head in the negative.

"Nah. I've got to see the old man first and give him my mission report, and then I've got dinner plans to secure with Hinata!"

"Oh? You finally talked to her."

Naruto really despised that super cool, devil may care expression on Sasuke's face.

"I talked to her. Now, if you'll excuse me, bastard, I have a mission to report."

"Whatever. Say hi to Hinata for me."

Naruto glared at the Uchiha fan on Sasuke's back as he walked away before he flashed to the Hokage's office. He'd used Hiraishin a lot that day, but not enough that he'd gotten tired of it.

Though it might have been better if he'd just flashed to the door, or walked, because he flashed in on a meeting.

"Um… hi. I have a mission to report, but I can come back later if you need? Or just write a scroll and leave it at the desk..."

The expressions on the old people's faces were so unamused - and hey, what was Kakashi doing there! - Naruto almost wanted to prank them for it. But old man Hokage seemed pretty chill.

"Why don't you just leave the scroll here when you're finished?"

"You got it old man!" And then Naruto flashed away, eager to get away from the stink eyes of the council.

As soon as he was tucked away in this room, he sighed in relief before he pulled out a scroll for his report.

"Better to get it done now, rather than leave it for later," and summoning a clone, he set it to work while he made some ramen. He needed to find Hinata later, and he needed ramen in his stomach before he faced her, even if he was going to just eat more ramen with her.

ooOoo

"So you accept?"

Kakashi sighed but nodded, "I don't have much of a choice, I suppose. My life is in service to the village."

The Third Hokage nodded, even as his advisors rolled their eyes. Kakashi had walked into the meeting four hours late and then had proceeded to stall the conversation with roundabout monologue about how he loves the village and would do anything for the village even if it included dieing or - God forbid - arriving on time.

"Good, the ceremony will be -"

The meeting was interrupted by a yellow flash, and many of those in the room looked ready to fling a kunai at the intruder.

"Um… hi. I have a mission to report, but I can come back later if you need? Or just write a scroll and leave it at the desk..."

The Hokage was kind of amused, and so was Kakashi, but the rest of the council looked ready to fling the Yellow Flash out of the window.

Which is why Hiruzen stepped in with his reply, "Why don't you just leave the scroll here when you're finished?"

"You got it old man!" And then Naruto flashed away.

"Where we again? Oh yes, the ceremony. It will be announced later today, and the ceremony will happen the day after tomorrow."

ooOoo

As soon as Gaara was dropped off in Suna, he headed straight for Matsuri's house, only to be grabbed by the collar of his shirt and redirected to his father's office.

"Hello to you too, Yashamaru," he responded dully.

His uncle smiled, like that picture of his mom, "Your father is waiting for you."

"But I wanted to see Matsuri!"

"You can see her after you give your mission report."

Gaara pouted but followed his uncle through the streets of the village. There were still some glares from villagers, but Gaara hadn't killed anyone in years, and his shouts of being the Kazekage, along with his friendship with Matsuri had mellowed many of the villager's reactions to his presence.

"So," Yashamaru began, "how was Naruto?"

"Same as ever. He had tons of fun, and I believe he's going back tomorrow, just to remind them to respond as soon as possible. He won't get serious for another week, I think."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Something about giving them a chance to surrender. Uncle, can't I just write up a report?"

"You could. But your father wants to see you in person regardless, so it's a moot point."

Gaara's face morphed into an expression of annoyance.

"He just wants to keep me away from Matsuri," Gaara knew this for a fact, even without seeing the guilty expression on Yashamaru's face as he continued to lead Gaara to his father's office. "I haven't seen her in weeks!"

"I promise you, we'll see her after you give your father the mission report."

Gaara's face lit up.

"Really! Then what are we waiting for?"

And then Gaara was dragging his uncle to his father's office.

ooOoo

Hinata found herself at Ichiraku ramen with Naruto for the first time in years. It was just as awkward as she suspected it would be.

"Hello, Naruto."

"Hi!"

"How did your mission go?"

"It was good."

Silence.

Then, "Still waiting to find out the outcome. I need to do a follow-up tomorrow morning."

"Oh."

The two twelve year olds entered the Ramen stand, greeting the owner and his daughter, and sat down to order - a Miso Ramen, and a Salt Ramen.

"So," Hinata began, "How have you been? I heard stories about your actions on the battlefield . . . is it true you haven't killed anyone with the Hiraishin?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah that's true. It's part of the mission I was just on. I needed a way into their villages."

Hinata's eyes widened, "Why would you need to -"

Naruto's face went slack as he seemed to realize what he had just said, "Oh wait, that's still technically classified because the mission's not technically over yet."

Hinata frowned. Now she was curious. "Will you be able to tell me later?"

Naruto nodded confidently, "It won't stay classified for long. Most of the mission is done, we're mostly just waiting for confirmation now. And until we get it, I just have to continue making a mess of things over there."

Hinata's eyebrows furrowed, and Naruto's face immediately went slack again.

"I mean," Naruto began spluttering, "forget what I just said! I said nothing!"

Hinata was prevented from answering, she really wanted to ask him more because maybe he'd let something slip, but the ramen was placed in front of them.

"Thanks for the food!" Naruto called out, smiling widely, grateful for the distraction.

He began slurping the ramen, probably hoping it would keep his mouth occupied enough that he wouldn't say anymore classified information. And as he glanced at her out of the corner of his wide eyes, ramen hanging out of his mouth, Hinata couldn't help but laugh. Some things never changed, and Naruto's ability to make even an awkward situation funny was one of them.

ooOoo

Gato was a practical businessman. When the Fourth Shinobi War had started between the Big Five (the Land of Fire, the Land of Sand, the Land of Water, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning), he knew that there was no way he would be able to gain control of the whole world's trade goods. The shinobi would sooner kill him then let him gain a monopoly. So he stuck to dealing fairly with the shinobi. He would sell them, both sides, his goods at a reasonable price.

But Gato was a practical businessman, as stated earlier.

Gato knew that he would never be able to make the kind of money that he wanted if he only dealt with shinobi, and definitely not if he dealt with them fairly. Money is power, but in this world, not all power is money. So Gato did what he could. He found a small country and squeezed as much money out of its little villages as he could.

A country to the South of the Land of Fire, the Land of Waves, was his current base of operations. Because of its geographical classification as an island, creating a monopoly on the traffic on the ocean was not too difficult. It cost money, but he made much more in the doing of it. So to Gato, it was all worth it. Especially since the Big Countries turned a blind eye to his machinations, too focused on their war.

Yes, there were difficult decisions to be made. But Gato was a professional businessman. So what, if some people died in the process. It was never personal. It was just business.

Now, if only the people of Wave would see that.

They'd been getting more troublesome lately, complaining about starvation and about how they couldn't pay his taxes. If they had money to eat, they had money for taxes.

He'd already made an example of one of the local heros, Gato had never bothered to learn his name, and while that had quelled much of the disgruntled mutterings, there were still some that, according to the reports from his mercenaries, held onto that rebellious spirit.

One such man was Tazuna. He was some kind of "master bridge builder" that had made his living off of building small bridges across rivers and dams. Honestly Gato thought the label was an overestimation, at best. The man hadn't really 'built' many bridges.

But he knew he had to keep an eye on the man, because if he didn't he could end up being a bigger problem than that hero that he made into an example in front of the villagers. If worst came to worst, Gato would just have him killed, even if that meant paying his mercenaries extra.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi was well and truly lost, but she was grateful she had brought along her mission gear. She was tired, hungry, and thirsty. And yet, despite that, she refused to give up. Deidara had left the village, and her stupid grandfather had just let him because "there are more important things to take care of."

Bullshit.

Family should be more important than this. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't this weak! But as she tripped over a rock - she'd been running for too long and she'd gotten too tired that she was making mistakes - she fell to the ground.

And she couldn't seem to gather herself enough to get up.

Her chest began to hurt, and her throat began to feel like it was closing up, and before she knew it, she was crying. It wasn't even the normal silent tears that most shinobi could explain away as something that had gotten into their eye.

She was bawling, and crying ugly tears, with snot coming out of her nose - _and she couldn't seem to stop!_

And as she lay there on the ground, for how long she doesn't know - may never know, she wished she'd never gone after Deidara. He'd been a selfish bastard anyway. He left the village. He left her. He was her family, and he threw that all away.

Time passed.

The sun set.

The air grew cold.

And Kurotsuchi lay there on the ground, tears drying up as she shivered in a vain attempt to get warm. She wondered if she'd die there by the end of the night. She wondered if this was it. After years of fighting in a war hoping to avenge her mother, Kurotsuchi wonders if the end will come for her with the cold air.

She heard a bit of scratching and looked up, straight into the pincers of a scorpion.

The shock was enough to get her moving, and she quickly backed up, spitting out a bit of limestone at it. And she abruptly realized that she didn't want to die. Not in this place. She wanted to bring Deidara back. Maybe not today, maybe not even this year.

But eventually.

So she quickly made a cave and pulled out her mission gear. Ate a little, drank a little, and snuggled into her sleeping bag.

She'd try to get home in the morning.

ooOoo

Rasa had a lot of paperwork to do. It seemed that whenever he started to catch up, more arrived. It was a never ending battle between him and the clock. Sometimes he wondered if it would just be better to stop the flow of paperwork about an hour before he left the office for the day, but then he thought of the big pile that would be there in the morning, and he dismissed the thought. It was for this reason that he preferred mission reports always in writing. The paperwork was always less for him to do.

At the same time, some missions required an in person report.

So, when the fourth Kazekage's son and brother-in-law arrived at his office, he sighed but accepted them in, finishing a few notes in his paperwork before glancing up to see the wide grin on his son's face.

"Yes?"

Gaara grinned even wider, as impossible as it seemed, "Mission accomplished. Naruto put the fear of the Yellow Flash into both Kumo and Iwa." He frowned for a moment before he continued, "though I have to say, the Tsuchikage is very hot headed and not very friendly. He didn't even let me explain anything. Naruto just left a scroll with the terms of surrender. The plan is for Naruto to continue with his reign of terror on the populace until they fold. He'll give me a report in the evening and I can have the report written in the morning. And then drop it off."

Gaara looked at his uncle then, "Can I go see Matsuri now?"

Yashamaru nodded and before Rasa could blink, Gaara had disappeared in a swirl of sand.

Meanwhile Yashamaru stared at Rasa.

"You're too hard on him. He's always done what you've asked."

"He's a weapon of this village. I can't see him as my child."

"He's a person! You've seen Konoha's jinchuuriki! He has friends, and he's all the stronger for it. Until Gaara met him, Gaara was unstable. You had almost considered him a failure!"

"And he almost was. But now he can help the village, and I need him focused in this war."

They stared at one another, the air around them tense before Rasa sighed and sat back in his chair, looking down at the paperwork in front of him.

"We're still not on the best of terms with Konoha. We can't fully trust them, you know this. I can't lose him like I lost his mother."

The words shocked Yashamaru enough to make him eat his words for a moment before he stopped and hardened himself to reply, "If you want him to have more ties to this village than to Konoha, you need to let him remain in the village more. You can't isolate him."

Rasa looked up, "He needs to be focused. He won't be if he -"

"You need to allow him to have friends otherwise you'll make him into the monster you feared, and you won't have to worry about him being distracted anyway."

Yashamaru was done with this conversation. He had always hated his brother-in-law after his sister's death, but as he walked out of his Kazekage's office, he found that along with the hate, there was pity. Yashamaru pitied the Kazekage because of the decisions he had to make and because he had thrown away a relationship with his family for the betterment of the village.

And while Yashamaru despised him with all his heart, he also pitied him.

ooOoo

The Yellow Flash came back to Kumo the next day, just as dawn was breaking, reactivating his seals and generally making a nuisance of himself, and honestly B was _kind_ of okay with it. The kid wasn't actually hurting anyone. At least not yet. And it was funny as hell.

Still, A was angrier than B had ever seen.

Because this time, The Yellow Flash had not only stuck to corners, he'd flashed right next to many of the shinobi he had knocked out on the battlefield and moved half of Kumo's shinobi forces halfway across the village in the span of minutes.

Which B found funny as hell, but also terrifying.

The Yellow Flash hadn't killed anyone, but he hadn't had any reason too. Yet. And with this stunt he was pulling, he was showing that it was better for him to keep them alive.

Because it just gave the little devil another way to control them, for them to live in fear.

Which is why, as B stood in his brother's office along with Yugito, Darui, and Shi, the atmosphere was tense. A was still fuming, waiting for the call from the Tsuchikage. It had been thirty hours since the first 'attack' and A was starting to get more and more annoyed.

"Why hasn't he called yet?"

Shi stepped forward, bless his heart, "Lord Raikage, the messenger bird should be getting there any moment now, but it will also take a little bit of time for him to understand how it works and set it up."

Even as he was speaking, Shi, and really everyone in the room, could tell that his efforts to calm the Raikage were not working, so he stopped talking.

The Raikage still threw his desk out the window.

Darui, much more practical. He suggested action, "Call him yourself, then, if you're impatient with him."

ooOoo

The night of the second attack from the Yellow Flash saw Iwa in a state of emergency, even as a package via messenger bird arrived at the Tsuchikage's office.

For a while, no one knew what to make of it. They set the device up in his office, connecting it to an electrical outlet, but the instructions were haphazard at best, and didn't indicate any sort of urgency. And the fact of the matter was, setting up a device from Kumo was a lot less important than trying to plug the security breach that had become the Yellow Flash.

So when the foreign device started to make noise that evening, Onoki stared at it for a good long while, tense and stressed and all sorts .

He picked up what he thought was the receiver and flinched as shouting immediately could be heard through one of its ends.

"I'm going to kill that little piece of shit."

It sounded like A. It was something A would say. It was probably A.

"Are you talking about the little piece of shit I'm thinking about, because if it is-"

"Why didn't you call sooner?"

"This device is complicated and my shinobi and I are dealing with a few issues."

Which was an understatement.

"Mine are as well. Did he barge into your office?"

"In a manner of speaking."

At that moment one of Onoki's shinobi knocked on the door.

"Not now!"

"What?"

"I was speaking to one of my shinobi. Continue."

There was silence on the other end before the Raikage spoke again, "We don't have much of a choice at this point. We are being forced into this armistice."

Onoki breathed deeply before he nodded to himself, looking up at the door even as that disobedient shinobi let himself in.

"We'll have to call a kage summit, won't we?"

"I think that would be best at this point in time."

"You know the Fourth Mizukage was actually in my office?"

"Hmm? And I thought my village's security was bad what with the Flash and his lackey getting in."

Onoki glared even as the Raikage laughed deeply.

"I'll send the notice for the summit to Sunagakure and the Land of Iron, then?"

"Yeah, I'll take care of notifying the other two."

Onoki ended the conversation with a plop of the receiver and folded his hands in front of his face, "What was so important that you had to interrupt such an important call?"

"Your granddaughter arrived at the Gates, Lord Tsuchikage, not five minutes ago."

Well, at least there was _some_ good news.

"Send her in."

She had arrived battered and bruised, but at least she was safe. She was alive.

"Gramps?" she collapsed in the middle of his office in tears as she shit her eyes and sobbed, "I'm sorry. I should have listened. Please forgive me!"

It took him a while to understand what it was that she was saying. Apparently she had come back with a goal that was not quite as suicidal as her previous one of killing the Yellow Flash. Onoki could not be more thankful, especially with the shitstorm they were likely to face until the messengers made it to the outposts.

That evening marked the end of the war as two teams of Kumo ninja were dispatched under white flags to the borders of the Land of Fire and the Land of Water requesting a Kage summit and two teams of Iwa shinobi under the same orders were sent straight to the border of the Land of Wind and the Land of Iron.

The Yellow Flash's attacks did not stop right away, and they were progressing into more dangerous territory every day, what with the confetti appearing in progressively more classified locations by the day. Until suddenly on the eighth day, it stopped.

That whole morning, everyone in the village seemed to be walking on eggshells, and only when night fell did the villagers, civilian and shinobi alike, give a great sigh of relief.

ooOoo

It had been two days since Kakashi had been sworn in as Hokage, and he figured this was as good a way to start as any. He was staring contemplatively at the scroll the border patrol ninja had given him that evening which had a request for a kage summit.

Which meant that Naruto, bless his heart, had done it. He'd ended the war, it looked like. Hopefully.

Now, Kakashi just had to make it to the summit on time and figure out who was going with him. Which considering the fact that if he wasn't Hokage, he'd be one of the guards was going to make things difficult.

Because he probably would not be allowed to count Naruto as one of his guards.

From what Kakashi understood from Naruto's mission reports, it had only been six days since Naruto had begun executing his plan. And while Kakashi would love to keep harassing both Iwa and Kumo, it would probably be best to get Naruto over here as quickly as possible.

Stop him from going back one more time.

It might even be more stressful this way.

But, mah, Kakashi figured one more day couldn't hurt. He'd see the squirt in the afternoon.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Naruto flashed back into the Hokage's office with a plop after his daily run through Iwa and Kumo. Of course, while he called it a run, it was still technically a mission, and the people of Iwa and Kumo would probably call it an attack.

Still, Naruto knew the truth. If he really wanted to attack, he'd summon his toads in the middle of their villages. It hadn't yet been a week since he'd left the terms and conditions - whatever that was, Kakashi was always trying to teach him something new and this was one of those new words - at the Kage's office. And due to that, Naruto was not quite ready to get serious.

As far as Naruto was concerned, there had been no response yet from the other villages. So, he was not obligated to do much damage. He was also not obligated to stop.

So, after his terrorizing streak through both the villages that wanted his head, Naruto was ready to give his report.

"Yo, Naruto!"

Right, it wasn't the old man anymore, it was Kakashi.

"Yo! So here's my report. No sign of any response yet -"

"Naruto," to be honest Kakashi was _trying_ to interrupt Naruto and let him know that there was, in fact, a response. Only it arrived too late the night before, and Kakashi had figured one more day of terror wouldn't hurt.

"But I'll keep an open eye out tomorrow. I'm thinking of ramping it up, you know! Maybe terrify them a bit more by starting to leave small injuries. Then increase to knocking out."

"Naruto."

"Because they're being kind of rude, you know, completely ignoring my warning."

"They didn't ignore your warning. They sent a reply last night."

And then Naruto, who had mostly been ignoring his adoptive brother throughout his whole tirade stopped and stared.

"You just pranked me, didn't you…"

"Now, why would you say that." He totally did, he was eye-smiling in that stupid way of his, the bastard of a big brother.

"That's not very nice ya know! I just messed up their village _again_!"

"Well, that's okay. They can't verify when we got the message, and we only got it last night. Negotiations haven't even started yet. We're only going to talk."

Kakashi didn't seem too bothered, and he was even settling his paperwork on his desk into a neat pile, as his clones continued, not even looking up to glance at the hyperactive blond.

"Talk? How's that going to help?"

Kakashi sighed, as if he was explaining this to a child. "Well, we'll be on neutral territory, and Konoha, Suna, and Kiri have all the negotiating cards. I don't think it will be all that difficult."

"You're just saying that," and Naruto actually pouted at this.

"No really," Naruto called bullshit even as Kakashi continued. "It might be a good idea for you to drop in if things start to go sour though."

Naruto frowned. "Wait you actually have to go there in person? And what do you mean by drop in?!"

"That's what a Kage Summit _is_."

"You didn't say it was a Kage Summit! Why can't I go?"

Kakashi's eyebrow lifted before he shook his head. "You need to stay and defend the village."

It wasn't the best thing to say to the blond, though.

"I can be in multiple places at once! And I can go to a place in an instant! I don't need to stay here to protect the village!"

"But you're going to stay, because the Raikage and the Tsuchikage don't like you."

Naruto scoffed at that.

"Besides, if you're not there, it means they don't know where you are. For all they know, you could be messing with their village again."

Naruto thought about it for a moment before he reluctantly nodded.

"If you say so."

"Hey, show some respect, I'm the Hokage now."

Naruto suppressed a laugh before he smiled cheekily. "Be prepared to give up that hat soon!" And then he was gone in a flash, the only evidence of his presence being the scroll with his mission report.

ooOoo

Asuma puffed on his cigarette as he regarded Kakashi, the perpetually late, and newly minted, Hokage. All the jounin and chunin of the village had been called via flying hawk. But this wasn't just any summons. Everyone in the village had heard rumors about the final mission to end the war, and most of the ninja had been called off the front lines a few days before, it had started with a mass retreat from both Iwa and Kumo, the two allied villages leaving some kind of message on the various fronts.

"Yo," Kakashi began, and the greeting was so casual and flippant, compared to the tense atmosphere, that the cigarette almost fell from Asuma's mouth. Almost, but not quite.

"So… Welcome to the meeting. A few months ago, the Yellow Flash began a covert operation in Kumo and Iwa. As a result of it, and its fruits in the past week, a Kage Summit has been called."

The tense atmosphere in the room seemed to relax a bit.

Asuma hadn't been expecting an announcement about a possible end to this war. He doubted anyone around him had, to be honest. And yet here they were. . .

"This, of course, means that I will need "bodyguards." So, Asuma and Gai, congratulations you're coming with me. Everyone else, we'll see you when we get back. Have fun."

His father must have been smoking the good stuff when he made that moron Hokage. Because the perpetually late jonin had become the "could-give-a-fuck" Hokage.

And this time the cigarette _did_ fall from his mouth.

"Yes! I will be the best bodyguard, my hip rival!"

"Hmm, did you say something?"

"Damn you, Kakashi!"

Asuma really hoped that the trip would not be like this the whole way, even as Genma, Raido, and Iwashi approached him and the other shinobi filed out.

"Looks like the squirt finally did it," Genma said with a smirk through the senbon in his mouth.

"Did what? Terrorize innocent civilians?"

Genma snorted. "Nah, he made them realize how terrifying he _could_ be and that he's just been messing with them so far. You'd better be careful though, Asuma, at the Hokage Summit. You and Gai. Take care of the new Hokage, and don't let anything happen."

Asuma knew it was a joke. He knew it was. Nevertheless, he felt a chill crawl down his spine and he scowled.

"Of course I won't, I'm not a traitor to the village or something!"

"Never said you were." They _looked_ taken aback at his reaction.

But he couldn't help but feel as if there was a part of them that didn't trust him completely, because he'd left the village to be the bodyguard of the daimyo. Asuma sighed as they awkwardly excused themselves and left while he picked up his cigarette to dispose of it properly. He'd been back for a few years, but he didn't feel as if he was completely accepted yet by his fellow Konoha nin.

"They're just worried."

Asuma turned around to see the most recently promoted jonin of his generation - Yuhi Kurenai. He remembered he used to have a bit of a crush on her when they were younger. And she seemed to be even prettier. _Just play it cool, man._

"Yo. Kurenai, right?"

She smiled. _Just play it cool, just play it cool._ "You remembered. I didn't think you would."

Asuma pulled out another cigarette even as he smirked at her, "You used genjutsu, if I remember correctly, and just got promoted to jonin, if I'm not mistaken."

"That's right," then she looked down as if contemplating her next words, before her head snapped back up and she looked him straight in the eyes.

_Just play it cool._

"It's not that they don't trust you. It's just that they're all worried, since we haven't had a new Hokage in so long, and the Fourth didn't last long either. They would have said that to anyone. It's just that they know that Gai would sooner commit seppuku than let anything happen to his "eternal rival" on his watch. I just wanted you to know that. You're our comrade. Nothing ever changed that."

Than she left him in the briefing room, and he was still clinging to the mantra in his head.

Who knew that even after all these years she could affect him . . . he should probably just invite her to dinner or something.

"Smooth, Asuma. Now, in regards to the mission -"

Shit. Kakashi had been there the whole time?

ooOoo

Jiraiya couldn't make sense of any of this. His spy network should be better than this, but all he was getting from this group was bits and pieces of crapped up stuff from the outside. He couldn't even really figure out their motive.

The sum of all he knew came to a few key points. It was called Akatsuki. They had less than ten people. They took a crap-ton of bounty missions, but mostly had stayed out of the war. And it had been an organization established around the end of the last war in Amegakure.

Oh, and Orochimaru was a member, though he was also branching out.

That was the sum total of all Jiraiya's intel after years of research.

And it was frustrating as hell.

Jiraiya had been all around the country trying to get more information on them. He even went undercover in the other countries, but had not been able to uncover anything new. It was as if the organization had no clear motives, or at least as if their motives were not yet ready to be realized.

He didn't just focus on this organization, though. He also had spies and contacts in the other countries, and as the reports came in, Jiraiya could not help the snort of laughter that burst from his mouth.

He had to see what that brat had done. Because this was the best thing he'd ever heard.

So, under the guise of trying to get more information on Akatsuki - there was a bit of a lead from Iwakagure, and his sensei would never let him go just to see what that brat had done - Jiraiya went undercover into the Land of Earth.

He didn't use a transformation jutsu, but he did hide his hair under a wig and a mild genjutsu. He also used a bit of makeup to hide some of his more distinctive facial markings. It always made him a bit grumpy when he had to use makeup, but he felt like this would be worth it.

He was stopped a couple of times, especially as he got closer and closer to the village, but he got through with his fabricated story.

"Yes, yes my name is Kyo, a humble sake seller. I heard that the Hidden Villages were some of the best clients."

He kept up his dopey, naive facade, throughout the entire conversation. _Fake it 'till you make it._

And he barely had to walk into the village before he saw the damage the brat had done. Most of it was superficial, but his Hiraishin seals were also mostly in plain sight. Which for Iwa, was probably more terrifying than the rest of it.

And it was great, just walking around, hauling his sake wares and ignoring the incredulous looks of some of the Iwa shinobi - what civilian in their right mind would walk into a shinobi village so obviously on edge? And he made it to the main administrative building. He had to be careful, he had one of his toads pre-summoned, and he let it wander even as he registered his few wares at the office.

The sake he brought was quickly checked for poison.

"So your purpose here is to sell this sake?" The administrative ninja was giving him the side eye, as if not quite believing him.

"Yep. Sake is the drink of the gods!"

His glazed over expression always left people feeling a little out of their depth.

"And this is all you have to sell?"

"Yes, does there seem to be a problem? I am just a simple sake peddler. My hope is to expand my business, but this is all I have for now."

"No, no, it's fine."

He was waved along, and Jiraiya had to hide his shock. It should have been harder to get through, but it looked like the little brat had done a good job at rattling them.

He left by nightfall because his sake sold really well. He almost lamented the fact that he was fresh out of all his sake, and could not celebrate with a relaxing drink. But the goldmine of information both he and his reconnaissance toad had gathered was safe, and it was worth it for just a few barrels of sake.

ooOoo

Amegakure had received word of the upcoming Kage Summit via the grapevine, and everyone in the village heaved a great sigh of relief, despite the ongoing civil war.

There was, however, a select group within the village that did not care too much about the outcome of the Great War. They wore black cloaks with red clouds trimmed in white.

This group, collectively, had other plans, beyond the downfall of Hanzo's regime.

Nagato and Konan were happy, in their own way, that the war had ended and that they had been able to contribute. After all, without Kiri in the fight, more shinobi from the five great nations would have died.

There was also the fact that Suna, Konoha, and Kiri had taken to trying not to use the smaller nations as their battlefield.

So Nagato and Konan brought the news to the rest of the Akatsuki with hidden smiles.

Sasori of the Red Sand couldn't have cared less about the war, however. He had left his village for a reason. The only reason he didn't threaten anyone when he heard so many people in Ame celebrating was because he despised Iwa and Kumo more than Suna. Not to say that he like Konoha either. They always seemed to be able to counter his grandmother's poisons after all.

Sasori of the Red Sand just didn't care enough about the war to dwell on the matter for too long.

Orochimaru was with Akatsuki, still, when he heard about the end of the war, and the way in which it had been accomplished. He was actually standing right next to his partner - Sasori. He also found out about the newest Hokage - Hatake Kakashi. Honestly, Orochimaru thought it was a joke - he could certainly bring Kakashi down if he needed to. He almost wanted to do it, at this point, too.

Things had begun to be a bit strained between Zetsu and Leader, and Orochimaru wasn't making any progress in his own personal goals, so he'd begun to think about abandoning the organization. He'd begun preparations in the Land of Rice Paddies long before, setting up bases, and was just about ready to desert. He figured the Hokage Summit would be a good time to slip away. Black Zetsu after all seemed to want to go to the meeting to observe.

Black Zetsu and White Zetsu were an interesting pair, and no one could seem to get a read on him. He was constantly talking to himself, sounding both childishly curious and seriously sadistic in turns. He seemed both interested and frustrated about how the war was ending.

He honestly seemed like he was having trouble deciding what to do with this new information - as if with the end of the war, a new war had started within himself.

But Black and White Zetsu were an interesting pair, and no one could _really_ tell what was going on in his - _their?_ \- head.

The other members of the Akatsuki couldn't have cared less about war. Kakuzu only cared about the bounties he turned in and the treasury, and the recently recruited Hidan only cared about his sacrificial rituals.

Only Kisame seemed vaguely interested, if only because his old village Kiri seemed to be on the winning side of this fucked up war.

ooOoo

Kakashi was Hokage, but he still wasn't quite used to the title. Hatake Kakashi - the Fifth Hokage - that's who he was now. It meant he - kind of sort of - had to arrive on time. And of course, this newfound expectation of promptness had to include the Kage Summit as well.

Kakashi didn't _do_ on time. Not anymore at least. Not since ANBU. Not since Rin had died. Not since Minato-sensei had died. Not since Obito.

But, he'd taken on the responsibility of the Hokage mantle - not that he'd had much of a choice. He was thrust with the responsibility because he was "the best person for the job." Honestly Kakashi felt like the Hokage just gave the hat to him because he wanted to have more time to read Lord Jiraiya's beloved books, but also wanted to give Lord Jiraiya time to _write_ those wonderful works of art.

Which okay, Kakashi could accept as a reasonable explanation for his appointment, but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it.

Kakashi called all the shinobi together to start preparations for his departure for the Kage Summit a few days after the missive arrived, only because he didn't want to be one of the first ones there. In fact it would probably be better for his psyche if he were the last!

He was actually leaving the village. As Hokage. Lord help him. Naruto, Obito, and Sensei were the ones that wanted to be Hokage. Not him. Never him.

And yet here he was, living their dream. It didn't seem right. Or fair.

But at least Obito got his wish - his sharingan carved into the Hokage mountain.

So Kakashi was setting out of the village - _in Hokage robes_ \- as he watched the villagers give him a farewell. Asuma stood to his left, a cigarette balanced between his teeth, and Gai stood at his right, his thumbs up.

"You can count on me to keep our Hokage safe! If I cannot, I will do five thousand laps around the village on my hands!"

Many of the villagers laughed at this. None of them took him seriously. After all, the three of them together were powerhouses, and at this moment, the biggest in the village. Kakashi just hoped that they would be enough. He honestly did not feel as though he was fit to be Hokage.

"Yo, Kakashi, you hold onto that hat okay! And come home safe! Or I'll beat your - mffff," Naruto was cut off by Sasuke covering his mouth and Hinata - when did she get there? - elbowing his side.

"Mah, Naruto. You worry too much."

With that Kakashi, Asuma, and Gai left the village and headed to the Land of Iron. And Kakashi felt lighter than he had in a few days - Naruto just seemed to have that power over people.

Kakashi was still going to do everything he could to delay their arrival, though. He had appearances to keep up. And being perpetually late was one of those things that he refused to give up despite his new title.

ooOoo

Rasa's guards stood at attention as they approached the Land of Iron from the southwest. It had taken a good five days since they had first received the notice from Iwa regarding the Summit, and he had left right away leaving an overly enthusiastic Gaara to drag Matsuri around the village.

He couldn't even leave Yashamaru or Baki with the little menace, because he needed them both with him at the summit.

Which was not too far away now. With their current pace, they would arrive at the Summit sometime tomorrow afternoon, if they took a break to sleep. Which they would, because Rasa was no idiot.

"Yashamaru, you will take first watch, Baki you will take third."

Because he was certain he'd be the only one capable enough at handling foreign shinobi with little sleep, but he couldn't be sure about his brother-in-law and subordinate. They were both exceptional jounin, but Rasa could easily crush them.

And so he needed them to be at the peak of their performance at the Summit.

The two guards nodded, even as they continued running. It was a long journey after all, and they would only be entering the Land of Iron in a few days.

Realistically, Rasa knew that his village was the second farthest from the Land of Iron, and that he could not expect to be there before the Tsuchikage and the Raikage, but if the new Hokage was alone with those two . . . even with the samurai and the guise of the white flag . . .

Gaara would never forgive him.

He had heard rumors that the Fifth Hokage was always late, and he really hoped that it ended up being the case. Because Konoha was the one that those two had the biggest grudge against, and he wanted to be there just in case things went South.

ooOoo

Six days had passed since Yagura, Mei, and Zabuza had left Kirigakure when Mei and Zabuza suddenly stopped, causing Yagura to blink slowly.

He had known it would take a good week to arrive at the Land of Iron, and they had not run into anyone yet to delay their arrival - even if such an act would be considered paramount to a War greater than the ones already fought. His village was easily the farthest away from the Summit, but he figured that even if someone wanted to risk prolonging this war, they would go after a Kage more beloved by his village like, say, Hatake.

Yagura had no illusions concerning his popularity or rather lack thereof.

He was also quite certain he'd be the last to arrive at the Summit.

So, even if they were attacked, it might not be immediately apparent to their allies.

And Mei and Zabuza had stopped.

It was when Yagura arrived on the scene that his heart jumped into his throat. It was that man. The man with the mask.

"Yo."

Yagura kept his eyes glued to the ground, but reached behind him, for the kunai Naruto had given him.

"It's come to my attention that you're misbehaving."

"Who the fuck are you?!"

Yagura really wished Zabuza would just shut up!

"You can call me Tobi. For now. Or you can call me the real Mizukage."

This was bullshit. He'd worked hard to become Mizukage. He wasn't going to just let this imposter, this monster take over again.

He pushed chakra into the kunai at his side, and felt such immense relief at the blond that just _appeared_.

"Yo big bro Yagura, what do you need? Kakashi just - who the hell are you?" He had stopped the moment he saw the ready positions of the other two Kiri nin and the orange mask on the stranger's face.

The man in the mask chuckled darkly.

"Now, what would your father say about that language?"

"No idea. Never met him," the blond replied flippantly, but with eyes as cold as steel. "Yagura, what do you need?"

"Get us out of here."

Naruto smirked, and the man in the mask stiffened as Naruto threw two kunai at the other two kiri-nin and flashed away and back three times.

The next thing Yagura knew, he was standing next to a wide eyed Hokage on his way to the Kage Summit with his two bodyguards beside him and no sign of the blond blue eyed wonder.

"Yo, Lord Mizukage. Why did Naruto just drop you off here?"

"Good question. We'll go over it at the Summit. I need a drink."

"What the fuck was that?"

"Later!" Yagura was done with Zabuza's shit.

ooOoo

A was getting impatient, waiting here for the last two Kage to arrive. He had left as soon as he had dispatched the missive and a week had passed. Sure, the Tsuchikage had arrived second, but that didn't mean much.

The village of Iwa was still in the process of cleaning up when the Tsuchikage had left with his son and another of his trusted jonin, and apparently had not run into any of the other kage.

In fact, of the villages on the other side of this damned war, only the Kazekage was present.

Which was really starting to piss A off, because he knew that after the Tsuchikage, Konoha was the closest, even more than Kumo, and yet they still had not arrived.

The only thing that stopped him from trying to track them down was the imposing glare of the Kazekage, and the impassive stare of Mifune, the lead samurai of the neutral country.

But this was just getting ridiculous. The meeting was set to start two hours before - it was already two in the afternoon, and neither the Hokage nor the Mizukage were anywhere to be seen.

"Where the fuck are those fucking bastards!"

"Lord Raikage, please do not use such foul language here."

"I'll stop when that mother-"

That stupid Kazekage was almost pissing him off more than the lateness of the Hokage. How dare he stuff A's face with gold dust!

"You really should listen to Lord Mifune. He _is_ our host."

A spit out the dust as much as he could before glaring mutinously.

"You can't tell me that this isn't annoying you either."

Damn that Kazekage, he just smirked. _He smirked!_ "On the contrary. I find it refreshing. After all, it's not as if he's the one in trouble or the one that needs to negotiate the terms of his surrender. He can take all the time he likes."

"Nevertheless" - Thank you! Someone with sense! - "he should have the sense to treat this meeting with the respect it deserves."

But the smirk didn't leave the Kazekage's face.

"We all know, Lord Tsuchikage that both your villages would be in ruins had Konoha been any less merciful."

"In ruins?! It al-" the Tsuchikage had stopped mid sentence, his glare ten times as hard as before.

Thank goodness for small mercies. No need to give them any more information. They already had too much. Fucking Konoha nin.

"None of that is really important. You're all here now, and he shouldn't be keeping everyone waiting." Thank you Mifune! At least someone had some sense!

And then a new voice broke out, and the three kage and samurai turned to the source. And there he stood. That damned Hokage and Mizukage with their thrice damned body guards.

"Yo! Sorry I'm late. I got lost on the road of life. And then I had to save a cat that was stuck up in a tree before I helped an old lady cross the street with her big bags of groceries. All this, of course, was before we left the village. After we left -"

What the actual fuck? Not even the new Hokage's guards were believing his bullshit - one was pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing while the other was frowning with the most defeated expression he'd ever seen. And was the spandex wearing guard actually crying? And the Hokage just kept going on and on, making A angrier and angrier. He was really starting to want to break the table.

Lord Mifune was the one that stopped his inner monologue and got them all to sit around the table.

"And why were _you_ late, Lord Mizukage?" the Kazekage asked, with a lazy smirk on his stupid face.

"Oh, you know. Had to turn back and go the long way around to avoid pesky missing nin."

What?

"What?" thank you, Onoki. A had not wanted to voice his thoughts and look stupid. Best to let the Tsuchikage do that for him.

"We crossed paths with a missing nin that is far more powerful than either of us. I had an exit strategy, but it involved turning back and traveling with Lord Hokage. We can discuss it further later. I believe we came here to negotiate the terms of you surrender?"

Fuck him. Fuck him and the whole damned three-Village alliance.

ooOoo

Tobi was furious beyond belief. They'd gotten away, and it was much too soon for him to reveal himself. Which simply meant that acquiring the sanbi would be more difficult than before.

When Tobi found whoever it was that released the Mizukage from his genjutsu, because he knew that the man was not strong enough to have done it himself, he would tear them limb from limb.

As it was, he was in his kamui dimension reordering his plans and making contingencies.

"Stupid blonds wrecking my plans, they always do that! First it was Minato-sensei, always late when he was needed the most. Now it's that brat of his whose whole job seems to be to frustrate me. He's worse than _I_ used to be."

He had only gone after the Mizukage to tie up loose ends and gain control again! Things were too calm in Kirigakure. How had a business trip ended up like this?

Tobi had arrived with his customary greeting, a smile hidden by his mask. Was this why that idiot Kakashi always wore a mask? - so that he could make faces at his opponents behind their backs while still maintaining his aloof, serious exterior. If it was, then Obito could see his point.

Didn't change the fact that the guy was a bastard and a comrade killer.

But he arrived in the middle of the road as the Mizukage was on his way to the Kage Summit, after all, it would be helpful to have control of him for the Summit, then he'd be in the know.

So he called out "Yo," as soon as the Mizukage arrived in his sight. The idiot Mizukage kept his eyes to the ground, and didn't say a word. Foolish man.

"It's come to my attention that you're misbehaving," he continued, because this taunting business was fun.

"Who the fuck are you?!" called out one of the Mizukage's guards and Tobi lazily glanced to the left; the guard, Tobi guessed, was one of the Seven swordsman judging by the huge-ass sword on his back.

Tobi only replied because he wanted to see the expression on the Mizukage's face; his eyes were still glued to the dirt at his feet after all.

"You can call me Tobi. For now. Or you can call me the real Mizukage."

Man, that was so worth it, just to see the expression of rage on his face! Messing with the Kiri nin was great - if only that swordsman didn't have a makeshift mask on his face.

But then the blond had arrived in a flash of yellow - and fuck he looked so much like sensei - it almost hurt. It probably would have hurt if he could feel anything..

"Yo big bro Yagura, what do you need? Kakashi just - who the hell are you?" the blond hand stopped when he caught sight of Tobi, and Tobi just chuckled.

Of course he knew Kakashi. Of course he would arrive on time, unlike that stupid father of his. Tobi felt like he really needed to say something to mess with him so he said the first thing that came to mind, "Now, what would your father say about that language?"

"No idea. Never met him." the blond replied, and fuck that actually hurt. It was Tobi's fault, after all, that sensei was dead - that the little blond boy in front of him had never met his father. But the little blond wasn't done speaking. "Yagura, what do you need?"

"Get us out of here."

And ooh! Wasn't that Mizukage daring - trying to get them out by appealing to a twelve year old. Pathetic.

And then Tobi stiffened at Naruto's smirk. The next thing he knew, the blond was throwing a kunai at the other two Kiri-nin. Weren't they supposed to be friend's? He would have thought Kakashi would have taught the brat better, although considering it was Kakashi - maybe not. He _had_ after all, killed Rin.

But then there was a series of yellow flashes, and all the kunai, and people, were gone. Tobi was alone, and had next to no idea where to find them.

The brat was more annoying than his father - and more reliable too. It made his chest hurt - which didn't make sense. He had no heart left, after all.

ooOoo

Around the table, everyone was tense. Mifune could tell this wouldn't be the easiest of meetings. The situation had only been exasperated by the lateness of the newly elected Hokage. The underlying problem was in the fact that Iwa and Kumo had been invaded daily, with no way to counterattack.

The situation was further exacerbated by the fact that it was a twelve year old that was doing all the damage singlehandedly.

Nevertheless, the Summit was now in session, and it was Mifune's job to moderate it. This was, after all, only the second Kage Summit in the history of the Hidden Villages - the previous treaties had been negotiated in absentia.

"We convene this - the Five Kage Summit," Mifune began.

"Finally," could be heard muttered by the Raikage, but everyone, including the Tsuchikage, ignored it.

"Lord Raikage and Lord Tsuchikage, you are the ones that requested the Summit. Therefore, one of you may begin."

The Tsuchikage began, cutting off the Raikage, whose mouth had opened, "Roughly two weeks ago, my village awoke to an attack perpetrated by Konoha's Yellow Flash."

The Hokage interrupted, and Mifune glared, "Just curious, but was anyone actually hurt?"

Well, that was a good question. Mifune softened his expression as the Tsuchikage's face glowered.

"Look you little upstart -"

"I just ask, because from his report, it sounds a lot like what he does in our village on a weekly basis."

"From what my son reported, it sounds like something he would do at home as well," the Kazekage added.

"I was there and to be honest, it was really more of a practical joke than anything else," agreed the Mizukage, leaning back in his seat.

Now, Mifune was very curious as to what exactly occurred in Iwa two weeks before, but judging by the furious expressions, it would take a bit more than simple prodding by the other Kage to weedle the story out of them.

"It was an invasion!" the Tsuchikage yelled.

"That brat is a menace!" added the Raikage.

"Totally agree," concurred the Hokage.

"Wait what?" Both the Raikage and Tsuchikage looked so confused.

The Hokage was nodded his head sagely, arms crossed, and shoulders slumped in nonchalance. "The brat _is_ a menace. He also goes to the front lines and doesn't kill anyone. Ever wonder about that? It's made so many of my shinobi pissed as all hell. See? A true menace. But then he came up with this great idea! So, while he's still a menace, he's our adorable little menace."

Silence at the Hokage's words prevailed until he spoke again, "Please, continue."

The Tsuchikage's glare came back with a vengeance, "He was everywhere in my village. And he left demands. We are here to address them."

"You mean you're here to accept them," the Kazekage cut in.

Mifune was really getting a headache from this.

"We're here because your demands are ridiculous!" cried out the Raikage, even as the Tsuchikage grumbled and nodded.

"However, the Yellow Flash's prolonged attack cannot be allowed to continue."

_Small mercies_ , Mifune thought. At least the Tsuchikage seemed to be willing to fold in the negotiations if only because he was tired of the constant attacks against his village.

"You already have the conditions we stipulated for your surrender," the Mizukage ground out.

The Raikage growled and three a scroll to the table, causing Mifune to jump in slight surprise, "This is a pile of fucking bullshit!"

Mifune felt obligated to remind him to be a little more professional, so he lightly cut in, "Lord Raikage, please remember that you called this Summit."

"There is no way in hell Kumo will be giving you any amount of our land, we're definitely not going to participate in an _exchange_ program, and you can bet your ass that we're not going to be giving any of your shinobi an advantage with training!"

"What? Don't you like the thought of inter-village cooperation?"

"Your little Uchiha brat already stole my personal, jutsu, there is no way I'm going to let any more of your shinobi get any closer just so that they can steal more of our techniques."

"Now, that's not fair. Little Sasuke worked on that jutsu with his brother and cousin without much help from his sharingan."

The Raikage shouted in rage, and Mifune stood.

"Calm down, Lord Raikage, or I will be forced to remove you from the room until you can discuss this with a level head."

The Raikage fumed silently before he sighed deeply. _It seems_ , Mifune mused, _the Hokage's blatant tardiness and nonchalance seems to have really riled you up, Lord Raikage._

"How about a trial run?" the Hokage suggested.

"What?"

"A trial run. Or rather another chunin exam. In Konoha. Everyone's invited. We'll have a party! And you two have until then to decide whether or not you want to bow to the demands. Our little Yellow Flash will even proctor it!"

For a long moment, the Tsuchikage and the Raikage stared at one another, seeming, at least to Mifune, to be having a conversation completely in stares.

"Fine," the Raikage finally ground out, before his head snapped toward the Hokage, "but if you think for a second this is over, you've got another thing coming."

"Awesome. How's six months from now? After all, my shinobi need to prepare an exam."

The Kazekage and Mizukage both nodded in acceptance while the Tsuchikage huffed and the Raikage rolled his eyes.

_Well, you can't win them all_.

"On to the next matter at hand; Lord Mizukage, you said you were waylaid and had to turn back?"

"Yes. Earlier yesterday, a man in a black coat with red clouds outlined in white appeared in front of us in the road. He was wearing an orange mask."

One of the Mizukage's guards spoke up, grumbling out each word, "It was really weird too, he just showed up out of nowhere. One second he's not there and the next . . . it wasn't even like how it is with the Yellow Flash, this man seemed to come straight out of some kind of vortex."

Eyebrows rose.

"I've met him before," the Mizukage admitted and all around the table, the Kage seemed to stiffen, "He kept me in a genjutsu during the first years of my reign as Mizukage. It was because of this that I knew we would not be able to escape him." The Mizukage's guards looked murderous. "So, I called my ally, the Yellow Flash, and he brought me as close as he could to the summit, and to some other allies - Lord Hokage and his guards."

"Wait a minute. That means. . . Lord Hokage, you bastard, you left a day late!"

"And how did you call that brat?" the Tsuchikage cut in, asking the Mizukage more pertinent information before the situation between the Raikage and Hokage could escalate.

And then the Mizukage brought out something Mifune never thought he'd get to see - a three pronged kunai. And then the Yellow Flash was on the table, a wide grin on his face.

"Yo!" he said it so cheerily, one never would have guessed that he was the subject of nightmares. "Someone call me?"

"Yes, do you remember that masked man."

"You mean the one with the attitude problem? Yeah, I remember him. But, I have no idea where he is."

"I figured. Just wanted you to verify for me, thank you."

"No problem, big bro!"

"Tell Gaara hello for me?" the Kazekage asked, "and let him know I expect him to participate in the upcoming chunin exams in your village. After all, he's still a genin."

"Wait, what? I thought Gaara was promoted in the field way back when!"

"That was Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto," the Hokage interrupted, "but I think you're missing the point."

"No, I got it, I got it," the Yellow Flash's eyes were closed as he nodded and smile - _his eyes were closed in a room filled with kage!_ \- "Chunin exams in Konoha, bla, bla, bla, spread the word, bla, bla, bla, and make sure not to eat all the ramen in the village beforehand, bla, bla, bla."

"I'm glad you're taking this so seriously. You're going to be involved in the planning and proctoring. Now get out, this is a Kage only meeting."

"Wait what?"

"Out."

"Fine, sheesh, I'm going, no need to get your weird ass hair up in a knot."

"Language, Naruto."

But the Yellow Flash was gone, halfway through his Hokage's admonishment. This was the shinobi that brought two villages to their knees?

ooOoo

Word about the end of the war and the upcoming chunin exams had reached Konoha before the newly elected Hokage himself had returned, courtesy of an over-enthusiastic and efficient Yellow Flash. By the end of the day, the village was littered in fliers proclaiming "Get ready for the Chunin Exams - coming to a Konoha near you!"

Sasuke was not amused by this. At all. His face was definitely not twitching.

"I get to proctor, Sasuke! Can you believe it? Me? Konoha's Yellow Flash!" He struck a pose, with his fist in the air and a fire in his eyes.

"I know, I heard the first five times you said it."

Naruto's air of bravado deflated, though he still smirked at his friend. "This is going to be epic. You didn't participate in the chunin exams in Suna, and it's going to be in Konoha this time, so it's going to be tons different, but can you imagine? All the little genin - Gaara included -"

"Wait, Gaara's still a genin? Since when?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Naruto asked, a smirk on his face, and then tilting his chin up he continued. "Neither did I."

Sasuke glared at Naruto - always bullshitting his way through conversations.

"Apparently, he never officially became a genin. It's stupid, too, because he's obviously going to own those exams, especially because _I'm_ not going to be competing."

"Yeah, sure," Sasuke replied. It was just better to go along with Naruto's obnoxious claims than to try and talk him down. "So what are Sakura and I going to be doing during this?"

"Helping me intimidate Iwa and Kumo? Maybe? I don't really know. I was just told I was going to help. We'll have to get more information from Kakashi-sensei."

"So in other words, you know next to nothing."

"I know plenty!"

Naruto could be such an idiot, Sasuke decided. "Let's go find the jounin commander."

"Why?"

"No need to look so suspicious. You should just give him an official report so that he can start planning. You _did_ say we only have six months."

"Yeah, and the old man Tsuchikage and the Raikage did not look too happy. Can't take any chances, here. We don't want another incident like the Suna exams."

So, Naruto could be serious when he wanted to. Didn't mean he was any less of an idiot.

"So to Shikamaru?"

"I said the jonin commander, not his son." See? Prime example - right there.

"Yeah, but Shikamaru's easier to find, and he can just take us to him! Besides, he's less of a hard ass."

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. "Sure. Whatever. Let's just get going."

"You should take some pointers from Shikamaru, bastard."

Electricity _totally_ didn't burst around Sasuke. It didn't. Naruto just yelped and jumped up in the air because he was an idiot like that.

"Hey, Sasuke, you bastard, get back here!"

They never did find Shikamaru. Or the jonin commander.

ooOoo

Neji glanced around as he registered that Lee was not too far away, running around the village on his hands. Gai-sensei had left for the Kage Summit a few days ago and was expected back later in the day. Still, missions - most of them at least (the ones having to do with the front) - seemed to be on a bit of a hold, and Neji's team was not allowed to get a mission until Gai-sensei returned.

Which was supposed to be later in the day. Until then, they were supposed to train. And Neji didn't care if it was mean; unless Gai-sensei was around, he was not going to train with Lee. Gai-sensei's absence never diminished Lee's drive to train, and Neji would not suffer that unless absolutely necessary.

He had been on a team with Lee for years, now, and was mostly accustomed to his exuberance. This did not, however, mean he thought it was any less insane. And he did everything he could to avoid him.

So, he needed to get where he was headed quickly.

Neji sighed as he continued walking along the street - stalls were open and offering an assortment of supplies, food, and services. Neji was trying very hard to avoid the eyes of the merchants. If he did, he had the feeling his pockets would lighten by quite a bit.

Tenten lived in this part of the village, though, so he had to tough it out and get through. He and Tenten had plans to train before dinner today, and Neji wanted to train now. Where was that store, anyway?

There. There is was. A little grocery store tucked away in between a weapons and maintenance shop and a writing supplies shop.

The bell jingled as he opened the door, and Neji flinched a bit. He knew why the bells existed. Civilians wanted some type of warning regarding the presence of ninja. But, honestly, if a ninja was honestly going to try and get in here without the civilian knowing, there was nothing they could do to stop it.

Neji wondered if Tenten had let her parents know that.

"Hello! How may we help you, Mr. Shinobi?"

The woman that greeted Neji certainly _looked_ like Tenten. _Must be her mother_ , he decided.

"I'm looking for Tenten. We're supposed to train today."

The woman smiled, but looked a bit confused. "She's upstairs getting ready, but I thought she wasn't meeting with you for another hour. You can head right on up, if you'd like. Just please remember to knock on her door if it's closed."

"Of course, ma'am."

Neji removed his sandals before heading up the stairs, seeing Tenten's family's shoes all gathered like ducks in a row. There were four pairs of shoes, besides his own; three adults lived here.

When Neji reached the living area, it was not what he expected. What he had expected was a nicely organized room. What he had expected was light streaming from the windows. What he had expected was the only mess being a little bit of dust that had been missed in the daily cleaning routine. What he expected was a room filled with light and flowers and all that stuff that civilians liked.

What he did not expect was a ton of scrolls open on the floor, or kunai and shuriken stuck out of cushions and creating a maze of danger in front of Neji.

He cringed back in shock when he noticed the group of shuriken sticking straight up from the wood floor in front of him.

"Mom! Where's my special kunai?!" He could hear and then there she was, in less clothing than he'd ever seen her before - why was her shirt not covering her stomach? And was Tenten's hair down? How had he not noticed how _pretty_ Tenten was? "Oh, Neji."

She was staring at him in almost confusion, and he was having a hard time keeping his eyes from her exposed midriff.

"You're not going to training dressed like _that_ , are you?" he found himself asking, but only because he wasn't certain he'd be able to focus if she was planning on it.

"Huh?" her brows furrowed and then she looked down, _squeaked_ , and then ran back into her room. "Sorry! I thought - sorry. Sorry for the mess." She was doing _something_ in there. There was too much noise being made. He was almost worried that she was having a taijutsu battle with someone in there.

But, the next moment, she was out and dressed in the way he was used to seeing her.

"You're early, you know?"

"Yes, but Lee was nearby." She should understand. She'd known Lee almost as long as he had.

"Oh, well you still should have called out."

"I just arrived. There wasn't much time. Either way, are you ready to train, or do you need help picking all this up before we go?"

She smirked and lifted her hands, bringing all the metal up via chakra strings.

"No worries, I've got it covered," the next moment all the weapons were sealed away and he was left standing in the room that he had expected, "Now, did you see my favorite kunai?"

That was the Tenten he knew. But he couldn't help but linger on the image of her leaving her room. She really needed to be more careful. He could have been anyone.

ooOoo

Naruto was ready to get back to missions. Kakashi had been back for a day and was back to assigning missions - or so the ninja grapevine said. Right now, though, it was mostly D and C Ranks - while the high profile ninja were being recalled from the fronts, but Naruto could deal with that. Naruto kind of _liked_ D-ranks. D-ranks meant border patrol, usually. D-ranks meant fun! He could deal with a measly D-rank.

"Hey, Naruto! Here for a mission?" Genma-sensei asked as Naruto and his team reached the entrance to the Hokage Tower.

"Yeah! Ya know, we're looking for a D-rank, you know! Got to do our part."

"A D-rank?" Genma-sensei looked skeptical, which didn't really make sense to Naruto. D-ranks were fun, why was Genma-sensei looking at him like that? "I mean, if you insist. Knock yourself out. Head right in. Kakashi's waiting for you."

Naruto walked right in, as if he owned the place - he would _one_ day, he swore he would - and looked Kakashi straight in the eye.

"We're here for a D-rank!"

The room became really quiet at that.

"Hah, you want a D-rank?"

"Yeah. Come on, what have you got for us. Three chunin is more than enough for a simple D-rank, Kakashi-sensei. So, let's go! Time's a-wastin!"

"Hmm. Well, I guess . . . here you are."

Kakashi threw a scroll at them and they walked right out, though they could still hear a couple of words being spoken.

"That was almost cruel."

It wasn't until they had exited the tower and opened the scroll that Naruto realized why they were acting as if he was insane to be accepting a D-rank.

"How is catching a cat a D-rank?! This is a set up, right? We asked for a D-rank, not an E-rank!"

Even Sakura and Sasuke looked confused, insisting on reading the mission scroll for themselves.

"Catch Tora? This . . ."

"We took the mission scroll, we have to complete it," Sakura lectured.

"B-but!"

"No buts. And if you don't complain, I'll give you advice about what you can get Hinata for her birthday."

"What?! That's cruel! You said you'd help me yesterday! You can't go back on your word!"

"December's still two months away, and until you actually get the gift, I expect you to accept your missions without issue. So if you complain and make the mission harder to complete, I will end you!"

Naruto and Sasuke both stared at Sakura in slight shock before Naruto grumbled and looked away, "Sakura, you're so mean and scary sometimes."

But then he laughed and said, "Let's just get this stupid mission over and done with. We've got work to do and I don't want to be stuck with this E-rank for long."

"It's a D-rank, Naruto."

"D-ranks don't _suck_ this much!"

Sasuke and Sakura collectively sighed before they followed him.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

With Wave under the thumb of Gato, the shipping tycoon, Tazuna was at the end of his rope. He should despise the Hidden Villages, and the bigger countries. And yet, he had nowhere to go except to Konoha. It was the most attractive looking option at the moment. Gato had a stranglehold on his island - his home. And Tazuna needed protection.

The Land of Wave was tiny and struggling to survive the leech that was Gato and his mercenaries. And Tazuna was sick of watching his daughter and grandson starve in front of him while he was powerless to do anything.

When Tazuna had begun his bridge, he was hopeful that it would turn the future of his country around. What he had not considered, when he began, was that Gato would be none too pleased with him.

"But, father!" - it was really easy to keep his mind made up when he looked at his daughter who was much too skinny nowadays - "I can't lose you too! Please, just stop this. He's going to kill you."

Except when she cried, he was certain that this was the right thing to do - for her, for his grandson, and for the village. When she cried, though, his heart broke - because he was breaking her heart. He knew he was.

"Tsunami, I doing this for you and Inari. It's what Kaiza would have done."

Those were the last words he had told her before he had left, in the dead of night, her sobs echoing behind him. The mist hovering over the sea hid his escape. It was was difficult - getting to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

The only reason he found it - could it even be called that? - was because a shinobi had found him five miles out and escorted him to the village.

"No charge," the ninja insisted. "I'm headed to the village anyway, since it's on my way. Anyway, you wouldn't have been able to find Konoha in the first place! At least, you wouldn't have been able to do it without my help."

He did feel like the guy was eyeing him from the side a lot, though.

And then he saw the prices of the missions. The cheapest mission they had was five thousand ryo. And that was for missions that had low probability of combat. They were almost always in-Village. The next cheapest was between thirty thousand and one hundred thousand. He was hoping to only have to pay for a mission at this level.

He was only slightly frustrated that mission classifications had recently changed due to the nearing of the war between the great nations.

And yes, he felt a little bad about lying to them on the paperwork - and there was a lot of paperwork - but it was partly their fault, for doing business with Gato.

And it was hardly lying, really. He was just omitting the truth.

By the time he had submitted the necessary paperwork for the mission - and for the love of fishcakes, was there a lot of paperwork, three packets of twenty pages each at _least_ \- he had been in the village for two whole days. He understood the need for the paperwork, they were after all at war still - even if it was only a technicality, but this was absolutely ridiculous.

"And when can I expect to receive a team?" he asked, because he didn't have that much money for hotel stays and food - on top of the mission fees.

"We'll let you know. The soonest you can expect a Team to be ready is tomorrow, but that won't take into account the fact that the paperwork still needs to be analyzed, threats need to be assessed, the mission needs to be ranked, and only then can it join the roster for available missions..." The desk ninja looked bored and not at all sympathetic.

It figured that he would have no idea.

Tazuna returned to his hotel room that night after five hours at a local bar, drowning his woes. For all he knew, he wouldn't even _get_ a squad. This disquieting thought led him to a troubled sleep, so that when he woke up the next morning - though it was honestly nearing noon by the time he was able to crawl out of bed - his head was pounding from a hangover, and he hadn't been able to get any kind of restful sleep.

He wandered out to the village, listlessly, simply because he had nothing better to do, and grabbed another drink. It was maybe a bit too early, but he just wanted to drown away the hangover. So what, if he looked like a bit of an alcoholic?

So what if he flinched when a ninja just appeared out of nowhere with a mask on his face - all catlike and deadly?

"You are Tazuna, the bridge builder?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes." He was allowed to be confused. He was under the impression that he wouldn't be called for days. Why was this ninja calling him by name? How did he know who he was? Did Gato hire him?! Had this ninja come to kill him?

"The Hokage requests your presence in the tower. He has a Team assembled and payment is due before you leave for your village."

So not here to kill him, but definitely hired -by him no less. _Well_. This was a whole other pile of shiitake mushrooms, wasn't it?

ooOoo

Itachi and Shisui were enjoying dango and tea when Izumi entered the dango stand. Whenever she needed to find Itachi, and he wasn't on a mission or with his younger brother, Izumi could be certain of finding him here.

She found it adorable that this was his favorite shop in the whole of Konoha. Sometimes, his sweet tooth was beyond amusing.

"Hey, Itachi, Shisui! Did you hear? The chunin exams are coming to Konoha again!"

Of course they heard. They were jounin, and she was just a chunin. But she thought it would at least serve as a good conversation starter.

"Hmm, oh yeah. Naruto told Sasuke as soon as he heard, and Sasuke told us. Are you being asked to help in the proctoring?"

"Yes, and you're not proctoring, I suppose?"

That was interesting, Izumi supposed, even if it made her a little sad.

"Yeah, I'll be part of the first part of the exam, they said. Planning for these exams is in overdrive because of the short notice. I heard they want the content of the exams decided by the end of the month so they can just focus on security for the next five. I mean, after what happened at the Suna exams."

Right, Itachi and Shisui were there when that happened. They just took long swigs from their tea, especially Shisui, setting the cups down and turning to her.

Or at least Shisui did. Itachi just continued to eat his dango and Izumi shook her head in amusement.

"Well, Itachi, it's been fun. We still up for training tomorrow afternoon?"

Itachi frowned. "Why wouldn't we be?"

Izumi was curious as to why as well, but she wasn't going to ask. Shisui had a mischievous expression on his face.

"No reason. See you later, then."

Well, he wasn't called Shisui of the Body Flicker for nothing, she mused as she took his seat. Ew. It was warm. How long had he sat here? And it would be awkward if she just got up now. Best to not think about it.

"I was wondering, Itachi, if you're free to train with me next week?"

He had dango stuffed in his mouth when he turned to her with an eyebrow raised.

He swallowed before answering. "I am, but you know that you don't need to schedule with me a week in advance."

Lies, lies, all of it lies! But it was still amusing to see him _try_ to be normal - as if he didn't have missions left and right, as if he wasn't specially requested for some missions.

"I know you, Itachi, you're always busy with something. But at least if I schedule in advance, I can hold it over your head later for skipping out. Even if it's for a mission."

She was feeling particularly childish as she stuck out her tongue at him as she ordered some dango for herself, but he only seemed amused at her behavior.

"I will always take time for you, Izumi. You're my friend."

And yes, it hurt, because she didn't want to just be his friend. They were seventeen now, almost eighteen, and they'd known each other for years. They'd known each other since he saved her the night of the Kyubi attack. Maybe he hadn't done it on purpose, he definitely would have saved anyone in her position, but he _had_ saved her. She wouldn't be here without him.

He was kind, thoughtful, and caring - just looking at how he interacted with his brother was proof enough of _that_!

But he was her friend, and he was waiting for her to respond.

"Of course we're friends. And you _should_ have time for your friends. That doesn't change the fact that you're unreliable sometimes, Itachi."

Izumi smiled back at Itachi, even though it hurt a bit. Being friends was enough, for now. Maybe one day she'd get the courage to tell him how she really felt.

ooOoo

Kurotsuchi didn't blame the little blond for Deidara's leaving the village. She didn't. Really. After all, it wasn't _his_ fault that Deidara decided to up and desert. It wasn't _his_ fault that Deidara read the messages on the walls of the village.

Alright, maybe she blamed him a little bit.

But something had happened in Deidara when he had seen those explosions and all that confetti. Something had happened when he saw the messages left by that little brat.

And then, the little brat hadn't stopped attacking the village. He had come to the village for a whole week reappling his seals and explosions. It wasn't enough that he had destroyed her team and had brought her village to its knees. No, he just had to terrorize _her_ village.

Her grandfather had left a few days after the initial attack to attend the Kage Summit, and he didn't bring back good news, as far as she was concerned - not even remotely. No, the news her grandfather brought back was that there was going to be a chunin exam in Konoha, and that at that point, Iwa would be expected to reply to Konoha's demands.

It was at dusk, after her grandfather got back from the Kage Summit, that Akatsuchi found her staring out over the village as the sun crested over the horizon, her knees curled up toward her chest.

"Are you alright?

"Yeah. Just leave me alone, already."

"I would have expected something like this from Deidara. You were supposed to be smarter than him."

"Yeah, well Deidara's gone, isn't he?"

"He is."

Throughout this little back and forth, she hadn't spared him a glance. She did, though, after he said that. He wasn't looking at her either - he was staring at the sunset. So she turned back to the horizon.

"You know, it's not the Yellow Flash's fault?" he began. "I think Deidara was just looking for a reason to leave. If Deidara had not left now, he would have left soon. You _know_ he was acting weird. You can try to deny it all you want, but it won't change the truth. Kurotsuchi?"

She didn't want to answer. Answering would give his words validation.

"How long have we been a Team?" he tried again.

"I don't know, I suppose it's been about six or seven years."

"And how long have we been cousins?"

She snorted and smiled. "All my life."

"And have I ever - _ever_ \- abandoned you?"

She didn't respond.

"Kurotsuchi, I don't know what's going to happen, or if Lord Tsuchikage is making the right decision in deciding to _maybe_ concede to Konoha's demands. But I know that I'm going to always have your back. I think you have what it really takes to be great. Maybe you'll even become the next Tsuchikage, but I'll be with you every step of the way."

She smiled a little. "You're great, you know that Akatsuchi?"

"Of course! I'm the great Akatsuchi! I'm Akatsuchii "the shield." I'm Akatsuchi the strong I'm -"

Kurotsuchi could not help herself - she burst out into laughter.

"Now, what's wrong?"

"Well . . ." and then she poured her heart out.

ooOoo

In the Third Hokage's home was a little boy who, at eight years old, had just graduated the Academy only that afternoon. And while he felt he was more than ready to go into the world of ninja, he was scared. What would his team be like? Would that irritable Hyuga - Hanabi - be on his team? He really wanted Moegi and Udon to be on his team. They were his best friends, after all.

That was beside the point, though. His goal there at his grandfather's was for more training.

"Konohamaru, the first thing you need decide is whether or not you want to be a specialist or a generalist."

"But gramps, why can't we just start already?"

"Well, everyone needs to start _somewhere_."

The eight year old pouted.

"Besides, you don't want to be too far ahead your future teammates. It will be a few days before you all start missions."

"I've already _been_ on missions - the ones at the academy, the E-ranks, you know! And they were stupid missions."

"Yes, but these missions will be taking as a genin will be different. You will actually be supervised by a jounin sensei. You also won't have to worry as much, because the war is ending."

"But gramps! That's why I decided to graduate so early anyway!"

"Oh?!" his grandfather laughed. "And here I thought you wanted to become a ninja because you wanted to protect the village."

"I do!" Konohamaru cried indignantly. "But I also don't want to be bored while doing it. And the academy is boring, you can't deny that gramps!"

His grandfather was still laughing. "Alright, alright," he grunted as he stood up. He was really getting old, nowadays. "Come on. Grandpa's going to teach you how to subdue a taller opponent long enough to get away. I know they taught you some variation of it in the academy, but this one is my own personal version that I learned from my father and improved with my sensei - the Second Hokage."

Konohamaru seemed to think about it for a moment, before he eyed his grandfather.

"I suppose that's okay. For now. But I still expect you to teach me some awesome jutsus later."

"Of course. But only if you learn this technique well. What I'm going to teach you today will help keep you alive. And if you come back alive from your missions, that means I can teach you more. Now, meet me in the yard, and let's get started."

"Yahoo! Way ahead of you, gramps!"

ooOoo

Shikamaru glanced up at his team as Asuma-sensei arrived before he closed them again and sighed.

Their team hadn't had a mission in about a month - since Asuma-sensei had come back from that mission, something about a Kage Summit. Since then, their team had had a ridiculous amount of training sessions. And Shikamaru, being a Nara, had avoided most of them by cloud watching in the park with all the little academy students. He looked to be the age of some of the academy students - the ones that had not made the cut back when he was there and had to stay for remedial lessons or drop out - so he had been able to blend in.

The problem was that Asuma-sensei always seemed to know where Shikamaru was. And if Shikamaru had not known that the tobacco smoke had to have ruined Asuma-sensei's sense of smell, then he'd say that Asuma-sensei always seemed to be able to sniff him out when he was being lazy as well.

The fact of the matter was Asuma-sensei always found Shikamaru, even if it sometimes took a while.

"Shikamaru, we had a team meeting an hour ago. You're getting to be just as bad as Kakashi."

"Isn't he the new Hokage? Are you sure that's not a compliment?"

Asuma-sensei snorted and took a long drag from his cigarette before he crushed it under the heel of his ninja sandals.

"Come on, I'm treating the team to barbeque."

Must have been Choji's idea.

"Fine, fine. This is so troublesome." Getting up from the bench was a chore, but Shikamaru was willing to put in the effort if it made his friends happy.

"Oh? Are you as motivated by food as Choji is?"

And wasn't that a funny thought, Shikamaru being motivated.

"Nah, that would still be too troublesome. You can ask my mom, I can't be bothered to wake up for breakfast in time."

"So, is that a yes or a no to the barbeque?"

"That's a 'let's get out of here, the sun's too high.'"

The walk to the usual restaurant Team Ten favored only took as long as it did because Shikamaru walked at a sloth's pace, and although Shikamaru was admittedly hungry, the smell of cooking meat did nothing to speed up his pace - neither did the sight of Ino and Chouji.

Besides, Chouji had a bag of chips in his arms, he'd be fine. A little delay on getting to the meat wouldn't hurt him.

Walking any faster than Shikamaru had to would just be unnecessarily troublesome.

"Hey, Shikamaru! Get over here!"

Ino probably thought her shouting would serve as suitable motivation. Honestly? It seemed more troublesome to keep going. He should just turn back now.

But that would also be troublesome.

He'd already gone through the effort of walking away from his cloud watching spot. And he didn't want to disappoint Chouji.

"Hey, Chouji, Ino." He hadn't sped up his pace, but that didn't change the fact that he had been walking which meant he would _eventually_ arrive at his destination. Ino was fuming though, which was troublesome.

"Morning, Shikamaru," Chouji greeted cheerily as he munched on his favorite brand of chips.

"It's past noon." Ino always was the more troublesome of his teammates, but she didn't have to be so rigid.

"Troublesome. I just woke up, so for me this _is_ morning. Morning to you too, Chouji."

"Hmpf, it's a wonder to me how you ever became a chunin."

"I can be motivated when I want to be." _Even though it's more trouble than it's worth_.

"Alright, guys, no fighting." That's ridiculous. Shikamaru would never spend effort on fighting with Ino. It would be beyond troublesome. "Remember, the meals are on me, so be kind to my wallet."

Shikamaru smirked. Now, to listen to his sensei and actually hold back on the food, when he was offering to pay? That would be _way_ too troublesome. Asuma-sensei should have just left Shikamaru to cloud watch if he was going to be stingy.

By the time the meal was over - a good hour later - Asuma was gazing forlornly at his wallet. To be fair, Shikamaru hadn't eaten _that_ much. Only slightly more than usual. But Chouji was there, and he was never one to hold back, especially in the face of a good meal.

Still, Asuma left money in the bill folder with a frown.

"Now that we're full, we can discuss what I meant to bring up this morning at the Team Meeting."

Shikamaru ignored the pointed look Asuma-sensei sent him and instead just leaned back and took a deep breath. Digesting food and talking at the same time was too troublesome - he'd just listen instead.

"So, there's a lot of classified information that I can't tell you about yet, but what I can tell you is this: there's going to be a chunin exam held in Konoha - in about five months, I believe it is. Shikamaru, you've probably seen your father preparing, even if you didn't realize it at the time."

Shikamaru lazily opened one of his eyes - unless something was done lazily, then it was too troublesome to be done - and then shut it again.

He could practically _hear_ the frustration in Asuma-sensei's sigh.

"This of course means that we're going to be on high alert. At the last inter village chunin exams, as you know, Iwa and Kumo attacked. Suna was on high alert then, and still suffered a bit. What we'll have to really worry about, for the most part, is the third part of the exam. Now, your job is going to be during this last part of the exams. You're going to need to keep an eye on the foreign shinobi. You guys are the best for the job since you look young and inexperienced. So maybe dress like genin - and leave the flack jacket at home."

Asuma-sensei was totally looking at Shikamaru when he said that.

"Also, you're going to need to help evacuate the civilians if anything goes wrong. We have a lot of training ahead of us, so don't slack off. Things are still tense and will remain so even after the treaty is signed."

Shikamaru just sighed. This sounded like more trouble than it was worth. So, he stood up and stretched.

"Thanks for the meal, Asuma-sensei. The whole mission sounds like a drag, but I guess there's nothing for it. Someone's gotta do it. Troublesome."

ooOoo

Naruto was fed up. He was ready for a mission - a real mission, not these stupid E-ranks - because there was no way these were not E-ranks. Naming them D-ranks was just wrong and an insult to all the D-ranks he had ever done.

This, despite the fact that Naruto was being told that he had apparently done missions like these back before the war.

He refused to acknowledge those days.

So, as he dragged that demon cat back to the Hokage tower, he had placed a Hiraishin seal on it _just in case_ (though, it was really because it had already escaped once, and Naruto refused to let it happen again), Naruto resolved to get a mission. A _real_ mission.

"Yo, Big Bro! Here's your stupid cat!" Naruto shouted the moment the big doors opened, banging on the adjoining wall loudly, which of course began a new round of struggling courtesy of the cat from hell.

"Naruto, please be careful with the architecture."

"I think you're holding the cat wrong," Sasuke - that bastard - remarked, his eyes lazily watching him from the side.

"Yeah? Well, if you think you're so cool, then why don't _you_ hold him."

To be fair, Sasuke might have had a point. The way Naruto was holding the cat did not exactly look comfortable.

"I would, but you seem so good at catching him, that there's no point."

The bastard was smirking. That was it, enough was enough.

"Kakashi, we need a real mission - one serious enough that this bastard actually acts professionally and respects his superiors."

Naruto ignored the snorts chorusing around the room.

"Now, Naruto, what do you mean by a real mission? This _is_ a real mission. The Daimyo's wife herself placed it."

"I mean a mission where we're actually making a difference!" Kakashi did not look very impressed with Naruto, who just pouted. "Look, I know all missions are important, but _me_ catching _cats_? Cleaning _garbage_ from a river? Walking dogs? All of that's a waste of my talents, a waste of village resources and -"

Crap. That cat was struggling harder than Naruto expected and had escaped out the window.

"One second," Naruto sighed before he flashed to the cat and flashed back to the Hokage office. "Sorry, where was I?"

He glanced around the room only to be met by the faces of chunin that had just been told that the worst of their paperwork was over and no more was expected until morning.

Only Kakashi seemed unfazed.

"I guess that means you have a seal on the cat?"

"Only for now. I need to attach something more permanent one of these days."

"Well, I guess since you three did _such_ a good job, I can get you a C-rank."

"A C-rank! Awesome."

"That would be, with the wartime system of ranking, a D-rank of course."

"Yeah, sure whatever you say!" Naruto was way too hyped about the upcoming mission to worry about what Kakashi was saying.

"First, get that cat into the cat carrier, so that when the Daimyo's wife shows up, she can take it."

Naruto completed the task before Kakashi could even _blink_ , he was so eager for the new mission.

"Thank you. Now, the client for this next mission is from Wave Country and needs an escort back. It's a protection detail mission. Here's the mission scroll. The client's name is Tazuna - he is an expert bridge builder."

One of the ANBU appeared with a shunshin, an old, drunk looking man swaying next to him. Or her. Naruto couldn't really tell what with the mask, and relatively flat chest.

"Whatsh going onnnn?"

Even the client's _eyes_ were glazed.

"Mr. Tazuna, these are the ninja I've assigned to your requested mission."

"What?" He looked afraid. "Are you sure they're ninja? Who's the short stupid looking one."

Naruto snorted, who was the - hey!

"I'll have you know-"

Naruto didn't usually stop yelling when Sasuke tapped his shoulder, but it was a chakra enhanced tap - filled with electricity, and Naruto _hated_ those kinds of taps, so he stopped.

"No worries, Mr. Tazuna. I can assure you that we are some of the elite ninja of our village and you will be in safe hands."

Leave it to Sasuke to play the diplomat.

"Whatever. I'm going to pack. You guys have any preference on snacks? 'Cause I'm bringing _tons_ of ramen."

"Maybe some dango?" Sakura suggested, and Sasuke wrinkled his nose.

"Anything unsweet. Maybe a few tomatoes, if you can."

"I better not die, you brats."

Yeah. Naruto _really_ wasn't liking this client.

"Yeah, well you better sober up. The mission is to protect you, not carry you back to your village because you passed out from too much sake."

The glare the bridge builder returned was totally worth the disapproving side eye he got from Kakashi. Naruto did _not_ have a stupid look on his face, whatever that moron said.

With that comeback out of the way, Naruto grabbed the mission scroll and with a "See you at the gate in an hour!" he disappeared in a flash back to his apartment.

ooOoo

Hinata glanced over to her sister Hanabi - whose new forehead protector gleamed prettily on her arm. She'd grown so much from the little baby she had met seven years before, it was honestly difficult to believe she was already a genin. Seven years. Time passed much too quickly for Hinata's liking. Along with Hinata's own exceptional age group, Hanabi had joined the ranks of one of the youngest genin the village had ever produced.

So, Hinata had decided to celebrate her sister's accomplishment with ramen before she left for a mission with her Team. Mikoto-sensei was really enthusiastic. Apparently, despite the armistice, or perhaps _because_ of it, Mikoto-sensei felt that they had dallied long enough. Very few missions had been approved in the past month, but they were beginning to gain traction now, so many shinobi were coming back from break.

The Torture and Intelligence Division was having a bit of a break too. While their intelligence gathering had in no way diminished, the whole department had definitely heaved a sigh of relief. Enemy movements were confirmed stationary, and the Kage Summit had apparently gone well.

"Come on, sis! I'm hungry, and you promised!"

Hinata smiled, shaking her head and taking a deep breath. "Right, let's go!"

The two sisters arrived at the most popular ramen stand in the village just as Naruto - the Yellow Flash, and hero of the village - was leaving with a big scroll labeled ramen on his back.

"Oh, hey Hinata! You here for the best meal in the world?"

Hanabi giggled. "Hi, big bro! I haven't seen you around in a while!"

Naruto's eyes widened. "I-is that . . . Hanabi?!"

"Hanabi burst into giggles. "You didn't know who I was, did you?"

"Of course I did!" Of course, Hinata could tell that though he put on the front of being insulted, his expression did betray a bit of guilt. It was probably best to steer the conversation away, though.

"Say, Naruto, are you stocking up for any particular reason?"

He nodded. "Yeah, we've got what Kakashi has taken to calling a C-rank, but we all know it's a D-rank. It's just an escort mission, but it's to Wave Country. And I don't know. It's probably going to be a headache and a half, because the client's as drunk as a skunk."

Hinata giggled even as Hanabi frowned.

"That's not very professional of him?"

Naruto snorted. "Nope, but he's the client, he can do whatever. Anyway, I have to get going! The team is meeting at the gate in half an hour and I need to finish packing!"

"Okay. I'll see you later then, Naruto?"

He nodded back to Hinata, and even though he flashed away and wasn't able to see it, she smiled. He was trying. Hanabi saw it though, and Hinata could see the wheels turning in her sister's head.

It wasn't until Hinata had her ramen in front of her and in her mouth that her sister spoke up.

"Hey, big sis, are you and big bro going to get married?"

Hinata choked and barely got out "W-what?!" before her sister ran off, taking her ramen to-go.

ooOoo

They were on their way in this mission - just Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura - two front liners and a medic. Three chunin for a C-rank that, had it been wartime, Naruto would have considered a D-rank.

But at least it was a mission.

After Naruto had said goodbye to Hinata, he'd flashed to his house, unable to keep a smile from his face, and finished his packing. Of course, he squeezed in some time to eat his ramen.

And then he'd flashed over to Sasuke, who unfortunately was already at the gate with the client.

"Yo," Sasuke greeted, even as Tazuna, that drunk, choked on his drink - he was still drinking? What kind of client was this?!

"Yo, bastard."

"So, what's the plan?"

"Stay away from Iwa-nin? And get to the country with time to spare? That's my plan at least. The client will of course slow us down, but -" Naruto stopped and turned away shouting, "Come on, Sakura! We're all ready to go!"

Sure enough, the pink haired kunoichi rounded a corner not a moment later and scowled at the blond.

"You don't get to lecture me on being on time when you're the one that cheats left and right. Besides, I had to stop by the hospital for last minute supplies. My mom used the last of my bandages."

Sasuke snorted, "Your mom's _always_ using your bandages. You should just keep it under lock and key."

His words didn't seem to sit well with Sakura. At all.

"And then what if my mom really needs it? This is medical supplies, and not even the really heavily regulated things. I can't just do that! I -"

"You know, we really should get going," Naruto interrupted, earning an appreciative glance from the client. "You two can fight like an old married couple on the road."

Maybe he shouldn't have been so patronizing in his words, because while he appeased the client, his teammates looked about ready to murder him and leave him in a ditch.

"Anyway, let's get going!" Naruto continued, ignoring his teammates furious expressions and walking past them and the client.

"One of these days, Naruto. One of these days that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble." Sakura muttered as she walked behind him, glaring and essentially ignoring the client.

"Are they always like this?" Tazuna asked Sasuke with not a small amount of trepidation.

And Sasuke couldn't help but smirk as the two of them followed behind the two ninja.

"Worse."

The group was routinely bickering for most of the day. Tazuna was convinced the little shinobi were going to get him killed before he even made it home. And he told them so, multiple times throughout the trip.

"Would you just shut up!" Naruto finally said after the Client made a particularly scathing remark about Naruto and his manners - however could his parents have let him out of the house with an attitude like that?

Naruto was fuming and honestly considering abandoning the mission as they set up the tent and coordinating a watch schedule.

Naruto insisted Sakura should spend more time with the client. "You're the medic. We need to keep you safe above everyone else in the squad."

She rolled her eyes, but sat down with the client by the fire Sasuke had lit with his fireball.

"Why aren't you with the others? You not as strong?"

Sakura gave the client such a nasty glare, Naruto almost felt sorry for the client. But, Naruto heard her answer.

"I'm the medic. Medic-nin protocols dictate that in the case of a fight, I stay back. I'm the last line of defense. My priorities lie in healing my teammates. I guess you could say my safety supersedes yours?"

Naruto chuckled at the client's horrified expression, then he sat back on the tree and shut his eyes. Sasuke and his clones were on watch, after all.

They'd be fine.

ooOoo

Rasa was suspicious about this meeting. It was why he had insisted that it had to be in Suna and with Gaara nearby.

He had been approached the day he returned to the village with a request for a meeting with the leader of a small village - miniscule really. The village had only just formed a day before. The most suspicious aspect of it all was that this village was closer to _any_ of the other villages.

And yet _his_ village - Suna - was the one this upstart wanted to speak to. As if their villages were on the same league, or something.

Rasa was not amused with this. At all.

But he humored the man. He set up the meeting in his office with two shinobi guards, and in the middle of his village. Gaara was even at high alert.

So, when the leader of the village approached, he kept his expression clear and didn't say a word until they were both seated in his office.

"So, what's this proposition you have?"

The voice that replied only sent chills up his back.

"My business proposition would serve the two of our villages well. I hear that you have a strong alliance with Water and Fire. But how long do you think that will last?"

This conversation was probably going nowhere. Rasa knew his son would probably side with Konoha if Rasa himself ever tried to stab them in the back. But seeing as the man came all the way over here, maybe he'd let the man finish.

"I propose an alliance. My village - the newly settled Village Hidden in the Sound - with yours. With the upcoming chunin exams that will signify the end of the war -"

"No thank you."

The shinobi in the room froze. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to interrupt the man, but Rasa wasn't made Kazekage because he looked pretty or because he was part of the Kazekage clan. He was also the strongest shinobi in his village, and this man - this upstart, really - had no business trying to interfere in Suna's political relations with the other villages.

"What?" The word resounded in the room and the shinobi in it tensed even more in preparation of a fight - because something was bound to happen with the way this conversation was going.

"Thank you for the opportunity. If things in my village were different, perhaps I would consider the alliance, but as it stands, our relationship with Konoha and Kiri is strong, and we're coming out of this war as victors."

"Konoha is coming out as victors, you are just -"

Rasa stopped the man, whose scowl was hardly professional. "And besides that, my son is very good friends with Konoha shinobi. They visit each other often. My son is one of the most promising shinobi in this village, and he would not take kindly to an alliance against his friend."

The office was quiet again, but some of the tension seemed to have rolled off the other village leader.

"And that is all you have to say over the matter? I came all this way for you to say no?"

Rasa's forehead crinkled. "Had I known you wanted me to betray my allies, I could have saved you the trouble. If you wish to discuss trade agreements and an alliance that does not involve the betrayal of my existing alliances, however, I'd be more than happy to discuss -"

The village leaders expression hardened as he interrupted Rasa. "That's quite alright. I understand perfectly."

"Then, if that is all . . ."

The foreign delegation stormed out of his office and within moments, Rasa was alone with his guards. It wasn't actually good that they'd just left like that, after all, they _had_ made the trip. Nevermind the fact that they were foreign shinobi in his village, they were - probably strong - disappointed foreign shinobi in his village.

"Keep a squad watching them. I don't want them going _to_ the restroom without someone watching."

His shinobi acknowledged the order, and Rasa was left to write a message to his son. It was better to be upfront with Konoha and let them know of the possible threat.

ooOoo

Katsue and Shirou had moved in together about a month before the Kage summit - after Shirou had been promoted to jounin. They had been 'dating' for three months, and sleeping together for six. In all honesty, Katsue had spent more nights at Shirou's apartment than her own. So the two figured consolidating their resources was probably best.

Shirou's little sister was also a plus to the arrangement, and since the two were living together now, Katsue got to see her even more often. The kid was always coming over.

"Shirou! Katsue! You won't believe it! Gaara's back!" Katsue heard as the door opened, and she looked up in surprise.

This again? Matsuri had insisted, for the longest time, that the Kazekage's son - the younger one that was questionably sane - was her friend. She'd never actually provided any proof, and the little girl's adoptive parents were not very enthusiastic about the tidbit of information. But Katsue had never met him.

She was okay with not meeting the kid, though. She'd always heard bad things about him, and even though little Matsuri liked him, Katsue was skeptical.

"Can I have him over?"

Or they could just invite him over and ignore the past. Katsue eyed the hopeful eyes of the little brunette girl. And while everything in her was saying no, actually articulating it to the little girl - and crushing her hopes was another matter entirely.

So instead Katsue just frowned and replied, "I don't know, you'll have to take it up with Shirou, and all your homework needs to be finished, and your training had better be coming along!"

Matsuri didn't even seem to be listening anymore, though. She had a large grin on her face and was jumping up and down, happy whispers of "Yes, yes, yes, thank you so much!"

And her excitement was infectious - so infectious that Katsue began to smile despite her feelings of dread. She reasoned to herself, as Matsuri ran around making the place nice and finding her brother to ask him for permission, that if the Kazekage's son was so dangerous, he'd have been put down long ago and Matsuri would never have befriended him. She kept telling herself this even as she moved to the kitchen to prepare something for dinner. After all, guests should be fed. It was only polite.

Even if the guests were not the most sane of people.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Kakuzu’s missions were not normally this straightforward. Usually he had to scour the world for his target’s location. Usually his targets were well known, or at the very least competent, ninja. Usually his targets put up a fight. 

This mission was not so time consuming. It was easy money - just how he liked his missions. Get in, kill the target, get out. The target was on his way home, apparently he hired a ninja team to protect him - but Kakuzu wasn’t too worried. His target was most definitely not a ninja - just a civilian that was causing a little too much trouble for a businessman.

Honestly, Kakazu almost wanted to kill the nuisance and forgo payment. Money was sacred, and Kakuzu could sympathize with his client in this situation. But he was not about to pass up on the money.

His most recent partner was also at least helpful in that he didn’t get in Kakuzu’s way in this venture. He did not speak much, just followed quietly.

Kakuzu figured attacking before the target crossed the water into Wave Country was the best time and place to attack him. After all, from what he understood, the client was not the most affluent of targets and probably didn’t have the best protection.

For a whole week, Kakuzu had been camped out by the ocean. His partner - Kakuzu didn’t bother remembering his name (if he was like his predecessors, he’d be dead soon anyway) - brought him meals as he stayed in place.

“You know, you’re kind of wasting time here.”

It figured that after a week of silence he’d be badgered by his minion so close to the target.

“Shut up.”

“You could just go after him already and be done with it.”

Kakuzu almost rolled his eyes. Almost.

“You may be my longest surviving partner, but we can always remedy that.”

There. Silence at last. And it seemed that it was just in time too. Out there, just beyond the fog was an approaching party of four - which obviously meant that there were only three ninja hired. From the looks of it, they appeared to be  _ children _ .

Kakuzu almost snorted in disgust. He was up against  _ children _ ? They were obviously playing at being ninja, but this was almost an insult. He was almost ready to just walk away from this mission. Kakuzu was many thing, but as of yet, he was not a child killer.

Still, the money . . . It wasn’t the best pay, but it was pretty decent considering the target was a mere civie.

So Kakuzu took a closer look at the guards and frowned. They looked a little familiar, especially the little blond one. Kakuzu had the weird feeling that he’d seen him before, and the fact that he couldn’t remember was making him irritated.

His mood was not at all helped by his partner opening his mouth again.

“The little blond one looks like this entry in the Iwa Bingo Book. Says here that he’s -”

His glaring seemed to have done the trick at shutting up his stupid partner, and prompting him to hand over the open bingo book.

The picture was exactly as the kid was currently presented - very official, like one that would be in his ninja profile. Which it was. Apparently it was entered for the Suna chunin exams years ago that had ended in war.  _ Son of the Fourth Hokage and the current Yellow Flash. No kills, but extremely dangerous. Kill on sight. _

His eyes roaming over the description and picture, Kakuzu couldn’t help the small amount of respect welling up. Small, because the kid had no kills to his name, but respect nonetheless because it’s harder to take care of a problem without resorting to murder. And this kid seemed to have done it.

It didn’t change the fact that Kakuzu really wanted that bounty.

He didn’t even care about the mission he was hired to do at this point. He’d stumbled on a goldmine. Those soft leaf nin were stupid to have sent this team out on their own.

ooOoo

As Naruto’s team reached the water’s edge, something didn’t seem to sit right. There was  _ something _ in the air, Naruto was just having trouble pinpointing what it was exactly.

“We have to be quiet. Luckily there’s fog to cover our crossing, but that doesn’t change the fact that it might be dangerous.”

The client was still slurring. It was honestly ridiculous, how much sake he had with him. Naruto swore Tazuna  _ had _ to be hiding his alcohol in a storage scroll, because there was simply  _ no  _ way that he had been able to carry enough alcohol to be perpetually drunk for a whole week.

And he was still muttering about being quiet even as Sasuke and Sakura were helping the ferryman get the boat into the water - those showoffs, not wanting to get wet and blatantly walking on the water like that. Naruto was particularly annoyed because there was something wrong. There was something that was going to happen. The hair on the back of his neck told him so. 

Which made next to no sense considering the client was pretty boring and this was only a D-rank -  _ C-rank,  _ his mind supplied - but there was something wrong. And he couldn’t put his finger on it.

It was as he was staring at the client, who really looked  _ way _ too nervous, that Naruto felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

He reacted as quickly as he could, which considering he was the Yellow Flash was actually quite immediate, and flashed to the client, pushing him down and narrowly missing a launch of cables, or whatever it really was. Naruto couldn’t really tell.

“What the hell?” Naruto heard Sasuke mutter even as Naruto pulled out his sword and brought it up just in time to parry the arm and  _ shit it’s alive _ \- the cables were alive and bypassing his sword and Naruto just grabbed the client and flashed him to Konoha, before flashing as quickly as he could back to Sakura and Sasuke.

“What the hell?” Sasuke muttered again, slightly acknowledging Naruto as he stood up shakily.

“Who the hell are you?!” Naruto shouted as two figures (in black cloaks that sported some really cool looking red clouds) emerged from beyond the tree line, the arm - cable - thing - winding back into one of the freaks as they continued to advance.

“What a shame,” the freakier freak said, “And here we were hoping to be able to accomplish the client’s mission without a mess.”

“Kakuzu they’re just kids.”

Creepy laughter, Naruto decided, was never a good thing.

“Shut up. This  _ kid _ , as you call him is worth more than  _ you _ are.”

The other guy did not look impressed.

“Okay but who the hell  _ are  _ you guys?”

Freaky freak spared Naruto a glance, and he almost shivered - almost, because he’d gotten worse glares from Iwa-nin that wanted him dead more than they wanted to win the war.

“My name is irrelevant. What  _ is _ relevant is the fact that you have a sizable bounty on your head.”

“Cut the crap already. Why did you attack? You said the client’s mission. Were you after the bridge builder?” Sasuke spoke up that time, and Naruto was slightly grateful - this guy had basically just said he wanted Naruto dead.

The creepy cable guy laughed that creepy chuckle again.

“That was a primary goal at first.”

Well shit. That shitty bridge builder. Naruto had half a mind to bring him kicking and screaming back here and just give him up.

“But after evaluating the benefits of your bounties, I thought it would be a good idea to cash in on this little gold mine.”

“Like hell, we’d let you take Naru-”

“Sakura, stop.” Naruto didn’t really know why he stopped her from speaking. Perhaps it was because the guy was eyeing him like a bowl of Ichiraku’s special pork ramen, or maybe it was because Naruto wasn’t sure they would be able to outrun them. So he tried to reason with the guy first.

“What do you want?”

His eyes crinkled, and Naruto assumed that under his mask he was smiling, “What anyone in my position wants. Money.” 

Naruto rubbed the back of his head before frowning and shaking his hair out, hand behind his back, but fingering a kunai.

“Sorry, no can do. I suggest you take your business elsewhere.”

They did not look impressed.

“What do you mean-” the other guy was cut off by the creepy guy who rushed forward. And Naruto had to admit, the guy was fast. But so was Sasuke, he noted, as Sasuke - electricity cackling - moved to intercept. 

And better than all that, Naruto was faster.

At first nothing seemed to happen, but this was mostly because Sasuke was moving too fast for the eye - okay so maybe not too fast for the  _ sharingan  _  - to see. Then, Sasuke was sent back, body still crackling with electricity and rolling his shoulders as a grimace crossed his face.

“So, he’s a bit tougher than I expected.”

Sasuke and Naruto shared a glance.

“Formation Four?”

A smirk.

“Formation Four.” 

Naruto nodded and leaped forward, kunai in hand, even as Sasuke raced ahead. The key to formation four, of course, was to constantly flash to wherever Sasuke happened to be, cover his back, and leave little hiraishin tags so that formation five could be implemented at a later point in time during the battle.

They never really got to use Formation Five, because the fights were always over by then, but it never hurt to be prepared, especially since it seemed that no matter what Sasuke or Naruto did, they couldn’t stop the freaky freak from making his attacks. Some of them were even almost successful. It was really starting to freak Naruto out, especially as the final movements of Formation Four came to an end and the two ninja children landed in front of Sakura out of breath but ready to implement the next Formation.

“You guys alright? Need a chakra pill?”

Sasuke shook his head even as Naruto scoffed. 

“Maybe later,” Sasuke replied, eyeing Naruto out of the corner of his eye. “Ready for Formation Five.”

And even though Naruto was breathing heavily, he managed to smirk and breathe out quickly. “I was born ready.”

Formation Five itself was simple enough to explain. It was in fact, a reversal of Formation Four. Instead of Naruto following Sasuke, Formation Five consisted of Sasuke following Naruto. Naruto would use clones and his flying thunder god technique to flash to the locations that Sasuke had been at various times throughout Formation Four, only this time, instead of tagging the locations for later use, he would have some clones with a hand full of rasengan and other clones that were set to explode - Itachi had taught him a pretty nifty trick to do that only a short while before this mission, in fact.

And so between the explosions and the lightning and the rasengan, Naruto actually managed to get a hit on the guy with Formation Five. He hadn’t been expecting it, and he swore his heart stopped beating for a good while there, because his hand was sticking out of this guys chest, and ew - and is this his first kill? Damn it!

And so maybe Naruto was panicking just a bit, but, he thought, he was allowed to.

Except that a moment later he was forced to flash away or be impaled by those cables, and they were still alive, so Naruto assumed he didn’t actually kill him.

Only fuck, he looked really angry, and -

“Sasuke! What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

Because Sasuke, bless his soul, had just run forward with a hand filled with lightning and had broken one of the masked ghoul things.

And at this point they were  _ really _ fucked, because freaky freak was looking angrier than Gaara’s dad.

ooOoo

Sakura had never been the type of medic-nin to take a being cut off mid speech well, and she was already annoyed with Naruto because, let’s face it, Naruto  _ always  _ got on her nerves. And to think she’d been about to tell the guy where to stuff it if he thought for a moment she and Sasuke would let him take Naruto.

Because, on second thought - take him. Good luck and good riddance.

Except that if Iwa ever got their hands on Naruto, there would be hell to pay, and based on the bounty hunter’s words about what he wanted- “What anyone in my position wants. Money.” - he would be more than willing to turn Naruto in, screw the consequences for the Big Five.

With the ensuing exchange that followed, Sakura struggled to keep up. Sasuke and Naruto were honestly just too fast and Sakura cursed the fact that all she was supposed to do was provide logistical support and medical care.

Don’t get her wrong, Sakura loved being a medic. But she hated standing on the sidelines waiting for a fight to end.

The first exchange of fists ended just as quickly as it started - she was a bit impressed because the guy with cables for appendages was able to keep up with her teammates - and Sakura struggled to keep her face straight as Naruto and Sasuke came to an agreement for the next plan of attack.

Formation Four was only ever used in cases where her teammates were vastly outnumbered, and it was with this thought that Sakura began to worry - just a little bit.

Which was only exacerbated when her teammates stopped, the formation complete. She had never seen Formation Five in anything less than controlled conditions on the Training Grounds. They’d never had to use it in live combat.

“You guys alright? Need a chakra pill?”

Sasuke shook his head and Naruto scoffed at her question, but Sakura felt it was necessary to ask, considering the circumstances.

Her teammates were out of breath after all, and this was really their first solo mission. She had the strange feeling that if Kakashi read their report, they’d never be allowed to step foot outside the village.

She relaxed a bit when Formation Five yielded the result of a burst chest, but it didn’t last long. The man looked murderous, and -

“Sasuke! What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

Really, what  _ was _ he doing? Did he want to make the cable guy angrier? Sasuke had just burst toward one of the growing mask -ghouls? Is that the right word? - things and stabbed it with Kakashi-sensei’s technique.

And the enemy looked even more furious.

“I’m going to take your hearts to replace the ones you’ve destroyed.”

His voice had taken on a manic tone, and Sakura rushed forward, because he was reaching toward both Sasuke and Naruto who were in the air at the moment, and she struck the floor.

The other ninja - the one that had stayed back this whole time, looked just a bit terrified.

“Kakuzu,” he seemed to actually be able to grab this guy and start dragging him away. “We need to get out of here. This isn’t the mission, and these kids are stronger than you expected.”

And crap, the guy - Kakuzu? - looked angry and murderous and he was turning to his partner almost hungrily.

“Kakuzu, hey man, remember what leader said!”

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Naruto summon a toad, leave a hiraishin tag on him and then grab the boat owner and Sasuke before he flashed away to who knows where, leaving her alone - that moron.

But only moments later, just as the two ninja are turning back to Sakura, Naruto is back and flashing her all the way back to Konoha.

ooOoo

Sasuke eyed the client who was gaping like a fish before he turned to the Hokage - Kakashi - whatever. It was a bit jarring when just a few moments before he’d been in that fight and now he was safe - somewhat - in the Hokage’s office.

“Yo,” Sasuke greeted, trying to act casual, even as Naruto got back with Sakura in tow.

Kakashi did not look impressed.

“Why are you back so soon, and with the client.”

Naruto glared at the client for a solid ten seconds before he turned back to Kakashi, “The client lied to us I’m pretty sure. There were two shinobi, and one was definitely at least A-Class, but probably S-Class. And he definitely said our client was for his client, but that he wanted to make money off of my bounty too. Sasuke and I may have pissed him off after, though.”

The whole time Naruto spoke he struggled to keep his face composed. On one hand, Naruto was really excited, because that had been a fight of epic proportions, and he rarely had ever encountered that. On the other hand, the client had lied, and Naruto had to restrain himself, fists clenching, from simply handing the man over to whoever was after him. The client had lied, and maybe Naruto could have forgiven it if his team had not been put into danger.

The client did not look happy either, though, “I don’t know why that ninja was after me, I’m just a simple bridge builder.”

“Oh shut up.” Naruto snapped. “We had to use formations four and five.” Kakashi looked interested in that little tidbit of information. “But it didn’t really work, he just got angrier.”

Angrier was definitely an understatement.

“Naruto got a rasengan into his chest, but then the guy -”

“His name’s Kakuzu, I heard his partner call him it.” Sakura interrupted, and Sasuke really wanted to glare, but that was also important.

“Kakuzu then. He grew into a bunch of black cables with masks. It was similar to the puppets of Suna, but not. And I was able to destroy one of the masks when he said we destroyed his hearts and that he’d use ours.”

“Yeah, he was a real creep. The only reason I was able to get us out of there is because his partner started annoying him, and I saw an opportunity to  - oh, they’ve left the riverbank now.”

The question must have been on Sasuke’s face.

“Gekomatsu was left with a hiraishin tag on standby with orders to activate the tag when they’re gone. I’m not making that stupid trip again.”

Oh good.

“So you’re sticking with the mission?” Kakashi asked.

“Oh, please. This is awesome. Kind of annoying, considering we didn’t have all the facts at first, but definitely better than those stupid E-ranks. I haven’t had this much fun in a fight in . . . well ever, to be honest. Maybe with Gaara? I honestly thought for a second that I’d killed the guy! Mr. Zombie-ninja can fight me any day!”

Naruto looked a lot more confident in Kakashi's office, Sasuke noted, but hey. At least they’d survived. Now, what to do with the client.

“What about me?”

Right, Sasuke forgot this guy was here - the person that was going to row the boat for them. Well.

“Who are you?”

_ Leave it to Kakashi _ , Sasuke thought as he smirked. The boat man sagged and looked about ready to cry - he was so scared. 

ooOoo

They needed to talk about this. The client needed to lay it all bare, because Naruto was not going to go into a fight unprepared again. As soon as Naruto had gotten the team and the client,  _ don’t forget the boat owner _ , he stared the drunk bridge builder down and asked, “What the hell was that all about anyway?”

The drunk bridge builder was swaying from side to side and looked nervous as all hell.

“What do you mean?”

Naruto rolled his eyes, not even bothering to hide his annoyance.

“Before the freak with the noodle arms started attacking, he mentioned that you were his ‘primary mission.’ What was he talking about? Are you going to say it’s just a coincidence that you hired a ninja team to protect you from bandits when someone wanted you dead? Because if you are, let me tell you not to bother. Kakashi told me not to believe in coincidences.”

Tazuna, the drunk bridge builder, looked like he wanted to crawl in a ditch and never emerge, and Naruto almost felt sorry for the guy -  _ almost. _

“What do you have to say for yourself?” Naruto prompted, because apparently his tirade wasn’t enough to get the client spilling his secrets.

And still, the client just stared at Naruto, though he  _ did  _ start to look a little green.

“Tazuna-san, we have to know who it is we’re up against,” Sakura cut in just as Naruto was about to start taking drastic measures - so they weren’t  _ that  _ drastic, but they were certainly more questionably legal that what she was doing. “We can handle it, and I think Naruto is more excited about actually having what amounts to a real mission to even think about leaving you alone to fend for yourself. But, with that said, we need to have full disclosure. What are we up against?”

Tazuna looked more reluctant than Tora the monster cat when trapped between a river and a tracking Team. But he gulped and responded hesitantly anyway.

“Wave Country . . . Wave Country is poor. It has been for forever, really, but when the war started . . .”

He looked reluctant to continue, and so Naruto took the moment to interrupt.

“What happened with the war?”

Tazuna seemed to gather his thoughts, even as the ninja children in front of him got the boat ready. “Do you know who Gato is?”

Blank faces were his answer, and he sighed again. 

“He’s one of the wealthiest exporters in the world. When the war broke out, he made a lot of money by selling supplies to both sides - which is completely legal, but not very safe. With the war going on he needed to be able to have a monopoly  _ somewhere _ in order to make more money - and he chose Wave Country. We’re an island, and Gato has control of all our docks. Everything we have is heavily marked up by him and for the past four years, he has been draining our resources. I’m a bridge builder, though.”

Something about that last sentence caused Sakura’s eyes to widen, Naruto noticed.

“You’re building a bridge that will cut into Gato’s profits,” she interrupted his story, but the bridge builder didn’t even frown. He only nodded, and - Naruto noticed - looked more tired that some of the shinobi he’d seen at the front lines.

And Naruto clenched his fists in anger.

This guy was a civilian - both Gato and Tazuna - and they were no different from shinobi. Tazuna, that drunk, had to fight to survive too. And Gato? Well, there were monsters among shinobi too.

ooOoo

By the time Tazuna had gotten to the boat that would take him and the ninja team to Wave country, he was sweating buckets. Because there’s no way that Gato would just leave him alone. He was right to worry, because they were all promptly attacked by two shinobi, and then he was in the Hokage’s office, all of a sudden.

“Tazuna-san?”

“Oh, um . . .”

“Naruto brought you here, it seems. What exactly happened?”

“I-I’m not sure.”

Because -  _ what the actual fuck _ ?

How did he get here so fast? Why was he here? Where were the pipsqueak-play-ninja? Where they alright? He was so dead.

“Hmm. Well, let’s give Naruto a little time. I’m sure he’ll be here soon to explain things.”

Tazuna had never felt so awkward in his life. In those minutes that it took for his escort - and oh, hello, they brought the boat man too, how considerate - to arrive in a flash of yellow light, he could feel the anxiety mounting. With each passing minute, the Hokage’s eye became colder and colder.

Yep, he was dead. He was  _ beyond _ dead.

When the blond, the pink haired girl, and the boy with the hair that resembled the back end of a duck finally arrived, he was able to breathe normally again.

He was so relieved, he didn’t even pay attention to the conversation, and was taken by surprise when -  _ fuck  _ \- they were all back at the coast, and the little ninja were asking questions, so many questions, and he just wanted to get home that the whole story came spilling out of his mouth - not all out once. He stumbled through it, skipped important facts. But they got the gist of it. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe?

It was honestly a miracle that they were sticking with him, though - to be completely honest. But he brought them to his home, and thanked them all profusely. Because he needed them - desperately. He needed them so that he could finish his bridge. He needed them so that they could get around this embargo. He needed them to be able to get that smile back on his grandson’s face.

He needed them.

ooOoo

Kakuzu was frustrated and angry, and he just needed to kill something -  _ someone, whatever _ . This was supposed to be a straightforward way to acquire funds for the organization. And instead, he was down two hearts and had made no money whatsoever.

He was  _ beyond _ livid. He passed livid five kilometers after they left the shore.

No, Kakuzu could not be reasoned with.

He blamed his no good dirty rotten money stealing partner. If Kakuzu had not been distracted, he just  _ knew _ that the little blond brat - his jackpot, his ticket to financial security - would not have disappeared in a flash. All his money - gone in an instant.

And it was all the fault of that no good dirty rotten money stealing partner.

Kakuzu was going to kill him. It had always only been a question of when he’d piss Kakuzu off so much that Kakuzu would relieve him of his head. But now, Kakuzu was in the red in the heart department, and while Kakuzu very much blamed the blond goldmine and his teammate - the Uchiha - Kakuzu also blamed his own partner. Which meant he was owed a heart.

Leader would not be pleased, but Kakuzu gave absolutely zero fucks.

ooOoo

Inari, a little boy disillusioned to the death of his stepfather, couldn’t believe these ninja. They’d waltzed into his home without a care in the world, and acted like they could defeat Gato. They weren’t even that much older than him!

He just - it wasn’t fair.

He had been worrying ever since his grandfather had left, and he honestly hadn’t thought he would see his old man again. He’d given up on hope when his stepfather had died.

With his grandfather defying Gato, Inari had figured it was just a matter of time before Gato made him another example to the people of Wave. His grandfather was basically just a dead man walking.

And somehow he’d come back.

Inari hadn’t been doing much in the two weeks that his grandfather was gone - construction had stalled on that bridge, and most people were just struggling to scrape up enough food for dinner. Inari figured he’d die soon anyway, too. So, he’d sat in front of the house, ball in hand.

And that’s how he was the first to see his grandfather come back, surrounded by three kids who looked not much older than him.

It was such a bad joke, Inari wanted to throw up.

“Inari! We’re home!” 

Instead of rushing to the grandfather he thought he’d never see again, Inari slowly stood, turned around, and headed into the house to tell his mother that grandpa was still alive.

His mother was ecstatic, rushing outside, not even minding the tea she was making - tea, that’s all they really had left and grandpa had brought  _ more _ mouths to feed?! And Inari was left to make sure that the house didn’t burn down as his grandfather’s entourage was herded into the tiny house.

“Is there anything I can get you? I only just started tea.”

Inari didn’t even bother trying to hide his contempt as he snorted in disgust.

“They should have brought their  _ own _ food, mom.”

It slipped out, and he could feel his mother and grandfather’s glare. But, honestly, Inari didn’t really care, because although they brought his grandfather back alive, these  _ ninja _ were no better than Gato.

But then they answered, and he wasn’t expecting what they had to say. 

“We  _ did _ bring food, you’re welcome to have some if you’d like.”

It was the pink haired delicate looking one who had spoken, and Inari almost scoffed again. She looked  _ way _ too delicate to be useful in a fight.

“And who are you, the tag along fangirl?”

He said it to hurt her, but he didn’t expect her to glare and look so scary. Inari actually became a little nervous, and - was that fire in her eyes?

“I’ll have you know I can break every bone in your body with my pinky finger. Don’t test me.”

The other two -  _ ninja?  _ \- held their hands up, trying to placate the girl, “Sakura, no need to scare the guy. He’s doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

And oh thank God, she turned her glare to them! Inari slumped, feeling as if he could breathe again. What  _ was _ that?

“Oh don’t even get me started on you two! You jumped at this mission without even  _ asking _ me!”

And Inari really didn’t want to listen to them fighting. These ninja - they thought they were so much better than normal people. Just like Gato.

“Are you saying you  _ want _ E-rank missions?”

And it wasn’t fair.

“No, but I would appreciate being asked what I want everyone once in a while.”

It wasn’t fair because his dad -  _ stepdad _ \- died, and they were acting so unbothered by what they were facing.

“Well excuse me. I thought  _ I  _ was mission leader.”

Inari clenched his fists, “You’re all going to die.” And then he ran out the back door, desperate to get away.

ooOoo

The first three days following the initial attack by those ninja in their weird freaky cloaks were calm. Naruto helped build the bridge with his small army of clones, as he and his teammates gorged on his food - and it was a good thing Naruto always packed for the apocalypse - and shared some with the villagers.

According to Naruto, they had only enough food for two weeks in his scrolls.

Which while certainly helpful, considering the lack of food on the island, was still quite distressing.

Naruto just shrugged it off saying, “If we need more, I can always head home in a flash.”

Then he grinned widely before heading back to help build the bridge.

They should have known that it was too quiet, that Gato wouldn’t let them carry on in building the bridge. The stakes were too high for Gato.

It really shouldn’t have been as big a surprise as it was when, as Naruto, Sasuke, and Tazuna made their way to the bridge on their fourth day in Wave Country, that they saw the cloaks with the red clouds.

ooOoo

**I was stuck for a good long while on how to go forward for this chapter. I knew it wouldn’t make much sense for Haku and Zabuza, who are still with Mist, to be here. Which brought me to Akatsuki. Which then left me with the dilemma about how to actually write a believable fight.**

**The only way I was able to brainstorm this was to speak with Snickie (The Real Snickie on Fanfic), who has a story, SO GO SUPPORT HER. Without her help, this chapter may not have happened.**

******Read and Comment, please!**

**-GlidingOne**


End file.
